cocktail

/ˈkɒk.teɪl/

//ˈkɒk.teɪl// noun

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

"cocktail" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cocktail” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,398. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,398
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mixed alcoholic beverage.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cocktail · cocktail · English

cocktail · rank #8,398 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,398
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cellular

Nearest frequency peer: cellular (-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 “cocktail”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cocktail” 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
Key facts for cocktail
PropertyValue
Headwordcocktail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒk.teɪl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,398
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cocktail”

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).cocktaillands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cellular” (#8,397), “cod” (#8,399), “bury” (#8,396). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cocktail” is #8,398. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around cocktail (IPA /ˈkɒk.teɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,398 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for cocktail, with forms such as "ccocktail", "ccoktail", and "coccktail". 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. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Early 17th century, from cock (“male bird”) + tail, in the sense “(a horse with its) tail standing up, like a cock’s”. The origin of the extension to “an alcoholic mixed drink” is unknown. One theory is that it refers to a stimulant (gingering), hence a sti… The correct English form is cocktail, spelled C-O-C-K-T-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mixed alcoholic beverage.
  2. 2
    A mixture of other substances or things.
  3. 3
    A horse, not of pure breed, but having only one eighth or one sixteenth impure blood in its veins.
  4. 4
    A mean, half-hearted fellow.
  5. 5
    A species of rove beetle, so called from its habit of elevating the tail.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They visited a bar noted for its wide range of cocktails.
  2. [...] a certain candidate has placed in his account of Loss and Gain, the following items:-- LOSS [...] 411 glasses bitters[,] 25 do. cock-tail

Etymology

Early 17th century, from cock (“male bird”) + tail, in the sense “(a horse with its) tail standing up, like a cock’s”. The origin of the extension to “an alcoholic mixed drink” is unknown. One theory is that it refers to a stimulant (gingering), hence a stimulating drink; compare pick-me-up. Another attested use is for non-thoroughbred racehorses: these were considered "cock-tailed" due to their docked tails. This may have led to the term "cocktail" (sense 1) being used for an adulterated spirit.

This word in other languages

cóctel(Español)cocktail(Français)Cocktail(Deutsch)coquetel(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccocktail
  • ccoktail
  • coccktail
  • cockatil
  • cockktail
  • cocktaill
  • cocktali
  • cocktial
  • cockttail
  • coctkail
  • cokctail
  • occktail

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cocktail - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccocktail1ccoktail2coccktail1cockatil2cockktail1cocktaill1cocktali2cocktial2
Edit distance from "cocktail"

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 "cocktail"?
"cocktail" is spelled C-O-C-K-T-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒk.teɪl/.
What does "cocktail" mean?
As a noun, "cocktail" means: A mixed alcoholic beverage.
What are common misspellings of "cocktail"?
Common misspellings include "ccocktail", "ccoktail", "coccktail", "cockatil", "cockktail". The correct spelling is "cocktail".
How do you pronounce "cocktail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cocktail" is /ˈkɒk.teɪl/. 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 "cocktail"?
Early 17th century, from cock (“male bird”) + tail, in the sense “(a horse with its) tail standing up, like a cock’s”. The origin of the extension to “an alcoholic mixed drink” is unknown. One theory is that it refers to a stimulant (gingering), h... 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 "cocktail", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cellular#8,397accessed#8,381embedded#8,416excluded#8,418

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

economies12 variantssounding12 variantsrelaxing12 variantsObamaCare12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list