clammy
/ˈklæmi/
"clammy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“clammy” is an uncommon English word, ranked #54,691 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #54,691
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cold and damp, usually referring to hands or palms.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | clammy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈklæmi/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #54,691 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “clammy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for clammy is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈklæmi/. Corpus data places it at rank #54,691 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for clammy in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clam (“viscous, sticky; slimy”) + -y, from Old English clǣman (“to smear, bedaub”). Compare German klamm (“clammy”) and klemmen (“to be stuck, stick”). See also clam. The correct English form is clammy, spelled C-L-A-M-M-Y.
Definition
- 1Cold and damp, usually referring to hands or palms.
- 2The quality of normal skin signs, epidermis that is neither diaphoretic nor dry.
Etymology
From Middle English clam (“viscous, sticky; slimy”) + -y, from Old English clǣman (“to smear, bedaub”). Compare German klamm (“clammy”) and klemmen (“to be stuck, stick”). See also clam.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “clammy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-A-M-M-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈklæmi/ (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.