chickweed

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"chickweed" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chickweed” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.

Key facts for chickweed
PropertyValue
Headwordchickweed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chickweed” sits in English frequency

chickweed falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chickweed is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for chickweed, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chykwed, chykewode, chike wed, chikewed, chekwede, a variant of chykynwede, chekyn-wede, cheken-wede (literally “chicken-weed”), equivalent to chick + weed. Etymonline claims the name was apparently applied to many plants fit for chicken… The correct English form is chickweed, spelled C-H-I-C-K-W-E-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.
  2. 2
    Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.
  3. 3
    Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.
  4. 4
    Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:
  5. 5
    Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:
  6. 6
    Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:
  7. 7
    Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:

Etymology

From Middle English chykwed, chykewode, chike wed, chikewed, chekwede, a variant of chykynwede, chekyn-wede, cheken-wede (literally “chicken-weed”), equivalent to chick + weed. Etymonline claims the name was apparently applied to many plants fit for chicken feed, which were called in Old English cicene mete (“chicken food”).

This word in other languages

pamplina(Español)mouron blanc(Français)Vogelmiere(Deutsch)

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

How do you spell "chickweed"?
"chickweed" is spelled C-H-I-C-K-W-E-E-D.
What does "chickweed" mean?
As a noun, "chickweed" means: Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.
What is the origin of the word "chickweed"?
From Middle English chykwed, chykewode, chike wed, chikewed, chekwede, a variant of chykynwede, chekyn-wede, cheken-wede (literally “chicken-weed”), equivalent to chick + weed. Etymonline claims the name was apparently applied to many plants fit f... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “chickweed”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-C-K-W-E-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list