chimney

/ˈt͡ʃɪmni/

//ˈt͡ʃɪmni// noun

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

"chimney" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chimney” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,882. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,882
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A vertical tube or hollow column used to emit environmentally polluting gaseous and solid matter (including but not limited to by-products of burning carbon- or hydrocarbon-based fuels); a flue.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chimney · chimney · English

chimney · rank #13,882 · 11 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,882
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Chrysler

Nearest frequency peer: Chrysler (+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 “chimney”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “chimney” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

chimney vs chutney
71% similar
chimney vs chime
71% similar
chimney vs Cheney
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for chimney
PropertyValue
Headwordchimney
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃɪmni/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,882
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chimney”

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).chimneylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Chrysler” (#13,883), “cater” (#13,880), “canton” (#13,879). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chimney” is #13,882. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around chimney (IPA /ˈt͡ʃɪmni/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,882 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for chimney, with forms such as "cchimney", "chhimney", and "chimeny". 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. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "chutney", "chime", "Cheney", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chymeneye, chymneye, chymene, from Old French cheminee, from Late Latin camīnāta, from Latin camīnus, from Ancient Greek κάμῑνος (kámīnos, “furnace”). Doublet of chimenea. The correct English form is chimney, spelled C-H-I-M-N-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A vertical tube or hollow column used to emit environmentally polluting gaseous and solid matter (including but not limited to by-products of burning carbon- or hydrocarbon-based fuels); a flue.
  2. 2
    The glass flue surrounding the flame of an oil lamp.
  3. 3
    The smokestack of a steam locomotive.
  4. 4
    A narrow cleft in a rock face; a narrow vertical cave passage.
  5. 5
    A vagina.
  6. 6
    A black eye; a shiner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Our chimney was a square hole in the roof: it was but a little part of the smoke that found its way out, and the rest eddied about the house, and kept us coughing and piping the eye.
  2. The external aspect of the oficina was not unlike that of a north-country coal or iron mine—tall chimneys and machinery, corrugated iron buildings, offices and houses, the shanties of workmen, a high bank of refuse.

Etymology

From Middle English chymeneye, chymneye, chymene, from Old French cheminee, from Late Latin camīnāta, from Latin camīnus, from Ancient Greek κάμῑνος (kámīnos, “furnace”). Doublet of chimenea.

This word in other languages

chimenea(Español)cheminée(Français)Kamin(Deutsch)chaminé(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchimney
  • chhimney
  • chimeny
  • chimmney
  • chimneyy
  • chimnney
  • chimnye
  • chinmey
  • chminey
  • cihmney
  • hcimney

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chimney - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cchimney1chhimney1chimeny2chimmney1chimneyy1chimnney1chimnye2chinmey2
Edit distance from "chimney"

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 "chimney"?
"chimney" is spelled C-H-I-M-N-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃɪmni/.
What does "chimney" mean?
As a noun, "chimney" means: A vertical tube or hollow column used to emit environmentally polluting gaseous and solid matter (including but not limited to by-products of burning carbon- or hydrocarbon-based fuels); a flue.
What words are commonly confused with "chimney"?
"chimney" is commonly confused with "chutney", "chime", "Cheney". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chimney"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chimney" is /ˈt͡ʃɪmni/. 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 "chimney"?
From Middle English chymeneye, chymneye, chymene, from Old French cheminee, from Late Latin camīnāta, from Latin camīnus, from Ancient Greek κάμῑνος (kámīnos, “furnace”). Doublet of chimenea. 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 "chimney", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cabbage#13,878comrade#13,888curator#13,897baptism#13,861

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

attendees11 variantseducator11 variantsfavoured11 variantsWhatsApp11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list