cherry on top
/ˌt͡ʃɛɹi ɒn ˈtɒp/
"cherry-on-top" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cherry on top” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Synonym of icing on the cake (“a thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good, or (ironic) the regretting of something already bad”).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cherry on top |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌt͡ʃɛɹi ɒn ˈtɒp/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cherry on top” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cherry on top is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌt͡ʃɛɹi ɒn ˈtɒp/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Synonym of icing on the cake (“a thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good, or (ironic) the regretting of something already bad”).".
Zero misspellings are on record for cherry on top in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: An allusion to a cake being decorated on top with one or more cherries. The correct English form is cherry on top, spelled C-H-E-R-R-Y- -O-N- -T-O-P.
Definition
- 1Synonym of icing on the cake (“a thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good, or (ironic) the regretting of something already bad”).
Etymology
An allusion to a cake being decorated on top with one or more cherries.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “cherry on top”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-E-R-R-Y- -O-N- -T-O-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌt͡ʃɛɹi ɒn ˈtɒp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.