childbirth

/ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ/

//ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ// noun

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

"childbirth" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“childbirth” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,664. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,664
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The fact or action of giving birth to a child, as the culmination of pregnancy; the process by which it happens.

Corpus desk

Index EN-childbirth · childbirth · English

childbirth · rank #16,664 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,664
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chiefly

Nearest frequency peer: chiefly (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “childbirth”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “childbirth” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for childbirth
PropertyValue
Headwordchildbirth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#16,664
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “childbirth”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).childbirthlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “chiefly” (#16,663), “chills” (#16,665), “Catalan” (#16,662). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “childbirth” is #16,664. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around childbirth (IPA /ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,664 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The fact or action of giving birth to a child, as the culmination of pregnancy; the process by which it happens.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for childbirth, with forms such as "cchildbirth", "chhildbirth", and "chidlbirth". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English childbyrth [and other forms], perhaps a partial calque of Old Norse barnburðr (“childbearing, childbirth”, literally “bairn birth”); equivalent to child + birth. Compare Swedish barnsbörd (“childbirth”), Icelandic barnsburður (“childbirt… The correct English form is childbirth, spelled C-H-I-L-D-B-I-R-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    The fact or action of giving birth to a child, as the culmination of pregnancy; the process by which it happens.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how childbirth appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Near-synonyms: labour, delivery (the moment of emergence)
  2. The preference for tightness during intercourse is so well known in Western culture that U.S. obstetricians even have a term for the extra stitch they often perform when doing episiotomy repairs following childbirth: the "husband's stitch." The husband's stitch is intended to produce a smaller vaginal opening, to counteract the natural stretching of the t…

Etymology

From Middle English childbyrth [and other forms], perhaps a partial calque of Old Norse barnburðr (“childbearing, childbirth”, literally “bairn birth”); equivalent to child + birth. Compare Swedish barnsbörd (“childbirth”), Icelandic barnsburður (“childbirth”).

This word in other languages

parto(Español)accouchement(Français)Entbindung(Deutsch)parto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchildbirth
  • chhildbirth
  • chidlbirth
  • chilbdirth
  • childbbirth
  • childbirht
  • childbirrth
  • childbirthh
  • childbirtth
  • childbitrh
  • childbrith
  • childdbirth
  • childibrth
  • chilldbirth
  • chlidbirth
  • cihldbirth
  • hcildbirth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of childbirth - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cchildbirth1chhildbirth1chidlbirth2chilbdirth2childbbirth1childbirht2childbirrth1childbirthh1
Edit distance from "childbirth"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "childbirth"?
"childbirth" is spelled C-H-I-L-D-B-I-R-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ/.
What does "childbirth" mean?
As a noun, "childbirth" means: The fact or action of giving birth to a child, as the culmination of pregnancy; the process by which it happens.
What are common misspellings of "childbirth"?
Common misspellings include "cchildbirth", "chhildbirth", "chidlbirth", "chilbdirth", "childbbirth". The correct spelling is "childbirth".
How do you pronounce "childbirth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "childbirth" is /ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "childbirth"?
From Middle English childbyrth [and other forms], perhaps a partial calque of Old Norse barnburðr (“childbearing, childbirth”, literally “bairn birth”); equivalent to child + birth. Compare Swedish barnsbörd (“childbirth”), Icelandic barnsburður (... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "childbirth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

camouflage#16,660dealership#16,680annexation#16,635Englishman#16,702

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

incarnation17 variantsmiscellaneous17 variantsproficiency17 variantsprehistoric17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list