clod
/klɒd/
"clod" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“clod” is an uncommon English word, ranked #64,994 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #64,994
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A lump of something, especially earth or clay.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | clod |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /klɒd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #64,994 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “clod” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for clod is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /klɒd/. Corpus data places it at rank #64,994 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for clod, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clod, a late by-form of clot, from Old English clot, from Proto-West Germanic *klott (“mass, ball, clump”). Compare clot and cloud; cognate to kloot (“clod”). Alternatively, Middle English clod may derive from Old English *clod (found in… The correct English form is clod, spelled C-L-O-D.
Definition
- 1A lump of something, especially earth or clay.
- 2The ground; the earth; a spot of earth or turf.
- 3A stupid person, a dolt, a clodpate, a clodhopper.
- 4Part of a shoulder of beef, or of the neck piece near the shoulder.
Etymology
From Middle English clod, a late by-form of clot, from Old English clot, from Proto-West Germanic *klott (“mass, ball, clump”). Compare clot and cloud; cognate to kloot (“clod”). Alternatively, Middle English clod may derive from Old English *clod (found in Old English clodhamer (“a kind of thrush”) and Clodhangra (a placename)), from Proto-West Germanic *kloddō (“lump, clod”), from *gel- (“to ball up, become lumpy”), related to West Frisian klodde (“clod, lump”), Dutch klodde (“lump, blob”).
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 “clod”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /klɒd/ (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.