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” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,796. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,796
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cobalt · cobalt · English

cobalt · rank #17,796 · 9 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,796
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coasts

Nearest frequency peer: coasts (-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 “cobalt”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cobalt” 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).

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)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cobalt”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “coasts” (#17,795), “civilisation” (#17,793), “collier” (#17,799). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cobalt” is #17,796. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around cobalt (IPA /ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,796 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. And although we’ve certainly seen a variety of blue shades — from periwinkle to cobalt and even Dean Cain’s indigo-washed costume from the 1990’s TV show “Lois & Clark” — Superman’s uniform is still instantly recognizable across generations. In fact, there is only one film — Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man of Steel” — in which Superman does not wear his iconic re…

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cobalt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

coasts#17,795cigars#17,792crispy#17,807curfew#17,811

Similar misspelling depth

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

cropped9 variantsbrides9 variantsbandit9 variantsenlist9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list