cobalt

/ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/

//ˈkəʊ.bɒlt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cobalt” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,796 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#17,796
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cobalt vs colt
67% similar
cobalt vs coral
67% similar
cobalt vs combat
67% similar

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

Key facts for cobalt
PropertyValue
Headwordcobalt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#17,796
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cobalt” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). cobalt lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cobalt is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,796 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.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for cobalt, with forms such as "cboalt", "ccobalt", and "coablt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "colt", "coral", "combat", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From German Kobalt, formerly also Kobald, ‑olt, ‑old, ‑elt, ‑el, apparently the same word as Kobold (“goblin”), from Middle High German, which became also a Harz Mountains silver miners’ term for rock laced with arsenic and sulfur, so called because it degr… The correct English form is cobalt, spelled C-O-B-A-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.
  2. 2
    Cobalt blue.

Etymology

From German Kobalt, formerly also Kobald, ‑olt, ‑old, ‑elt, ‑el, apparently the same word as Kobold (“goblin”), from Middle High German, which became also a Harz Mountains silver miners’ term for rock laced with arsenic and sulfur, so called because it degraded the ore and made the miners ill. Doublet of kobold.

This word in other languages

cobalto(Español)cobalt(Français)Kobalt(Deutsch)cobalto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cboalt,ccobalt,coablt,coballt,cobaltt,cobatl,cobbalt,coblat,ocbalt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cboalt2ccobalt1coablt2coballt1cobaltt1cobatl2cobbalt1coblat2
Edit distance from "cobalt"

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 "cobalt"?
"cobalt" is spelled C-O-B-A-L-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/.
What does "cobalt" mean?
As a noun, "cobalt" means: A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.
What words are commonly confused with "cobalt"?
"cobalt" is commonly confused with "colt", "coral", "combat". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cobalt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cobalt" is /ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/. 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 "cobalt"?
From German Kobalt, formerly also Kobald, ‑olt, ‑old, ‑elt, ‑el, apparently the same word as Kobold (“goblin”), from Middle High German, which became also a Harz Mountains silver miners’ term for rock laced with arsenic and sulfur, so called becau... 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.

Using “cobalt”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-B-A-L-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “colt” - see the side-by-side comparison. cobalt vs colt
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list