coda
/ˈkəʊ.də/
"coda" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“coda” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #39,740 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #39,740
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A passage that brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | coda |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkəʊ.də/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #39,740 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “coda” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for coda is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkəʊ.də/. Corpus data places it at rank #39,740 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for coda, with forms such as "ccoda", "cdoa", and "coad". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cop", "con", "cow", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian coda (literally “tail”), from Latin cauda. Doublet of queue and cola. The correct English form is coda, spelled C-O-D-A.
Definition
- 1A passage that brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation.
- 2The optional final sound of a syllable or word, occurring after its nucleus and usually composed of one or more consonants.
- 3In seismograms, the gradual return to baseline after a seismic event. The length of the coda can be used to estimate event magnitude, and the shape sometimes reveals details of subsurface structures.
- 4A conclusion (of a statement or event, for example), final portion, tail end.
- 5A series of clicks used by sperm whales for communicating with each other.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian coda (literally “tail”), from Latin cauda. Doublet of queue and cola.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccoda,cdoa,coad,codda,ocda
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of coda - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "coda"?
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Using “coda”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-D-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkəʊ.də/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cop” - see the side-by-side comparison. coda vs cop
- 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.