clough

/klʌf/

//klʌf// noun

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

"clough" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clough” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,578. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,578
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A narrow valley; a cleft in a hillside; a ravine, glen, or gorge.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clough · clough · English

clough · rank #33,578 · 9 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,578
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH clingy

Nearest frequency peer: clingy (-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 “clough”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “clough” 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).

clough vs couch
67% similar
clough vs cough
83% similar
clough vs clout
67% similar

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

Key facts for clough
PropertyValue
Headwordclough
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/klʌf/
Letters6
Frequency rank#33,578
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “clough”

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).cloughlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “clingy” (#33,577), “Coburn” (#33,579), “codeine” (#33,580). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “clough” is #33,578. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around clough (IPA /klʌf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,578 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for clough, with forms such as "cclough", "cllough", and "cloguh". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "couch", "cough", "clout", 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 clough, clow, cloȝ, from Old English *clōh, from Proto-Germanic *klanhaz, *klanhō (“cleft, sluice, abyss”), of uncertain origin, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”). Cognate with Scots cleuch (“gorg… The correct English form is clough, spelled C-L-O-U-G-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A narrow valley; a cleft in a hillside; a ravine, glen, or gorge.
  2. 2
    A sluice used in returning water to a channel after depositing its sediment on the flooded land.
  3. 3
    The cleft or fork of a tree; crotch.
  4. 4
    A wood; weald.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The day-sky glimmered on the dew[…] And lurked in heath and braken clough
  2. These beds form no good escarpments southward of the clough; but they appear to be higher than the corresponding beds on the opposite side; there would thus seem to be a fault in the valley downthrowing on the west, but it is quite hidden by débris.

Etymology

From Middle English clough, clow, cloȝ, from Old English *clōh, from Proto-Germanic *klanhaz, *klanhō (“cleft, sluice, abyss”), of uncertain origin, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”). Cognate with Scots cleuch (“gorge; ravine”), Old High German klāh (in placenames), Old High German klingo, klinga (“brook, cataract, gulf, rapids”). Perhaps conflated or influenced by Old Norse klofi (“a cleft or rift in a hill, ravine”); compare Dutch kloof (“a slit, crevice, chink”). See also cling, clove.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cclough
  • cllough
  • cloguh
  • clouggh
  • cloughh
  • clouhg
  • cluogh
  • colugh
  • lcough

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of clough - 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.

cclough1cllough1cloguh2clouggh1cloughh1clouhg2cluogh2colugh2
Edit distance from "clough"

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 "clough"?
"clough" is spelled C-L-O-U-G-H. The IPA pronunciation is /klʌf/.
What does "clough" mean?
As a noun, "clough" means: A narrow valley; a cleft in a hillside; a ravine, glen, or gorge.
What words are commonly confused with "clough"?
"clough" is commonly confused with "couch", "cough", "clout". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "clough"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "clough" is /klʌf/. 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 "clough"?
From Middle English clough, clow, cloȝ, from Old English *clōh, from Proto-Germanic *klanhaz, *klanhō (“cleft, sluice, abyss”), of uncertain origin, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”). Cognate with Scots cle... 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 "clough", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

clingy#33,577Coburn#33,579cleats#33,574Correa#33,591

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

codeine9 variantsConnery9 variantsdarken9 variantsDermot9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list