# coda

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkəʊ.də/ · frequency rank #39,740

## Definitions
1. A passage that brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation.
2. The optional final sound of a syllable or word, occurring after its nucleus and usually composed of one or more consonants.
3. In 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.
4. A conclusion (of a statement or event, for example), final portion, tail end.
5. A 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.

## Easily confused with
- **cop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cop)
- **con** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-con)
- **cow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cow)
- **cos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cos)
- **col** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-col)
- **cox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cox)
- **cor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cor)
- **coo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-coo)
- **CPA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cpa)
- **cot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cot)
- **Coe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-coe)
- **coz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-coz)
- **CSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-csa)
- **coy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-coy)
- **cog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cog)
- **CTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cta)
- **CPD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cpd)
- **Cov** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cov)
- **CVD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-cvd)
- **come** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coda-vs-come)

## Common misspellings (5)
`ccoda`, `cdoa`, `coad`, `codda`, `ocda`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/coda