cofferdam
/ˈkɑ.fɚ.dæm/
"cofferdam" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cofferdam” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A temporary watertight enclosure used to create a dry foundation for building bridges and other structures over water.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cofferdam · cofferdam · English
cofferdam · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cofferdam |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɑ.fɚ.dæm/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cofferdam” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cofferdam is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɑ.fɚ.dæm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for cofferdam in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From coffer + dam. The correct English form is cofferdam, spelled C-O-F-F-E-R-D-A-M.
Definition
- 1A temporary watertight enclosure used to create a dry foundation for building bridges and other structures over water.
- 2An empty space that acts as a protective barrier between two floors or bulkheads on a ship.
- 3A rubber dam to keep the teeth dry when operating upon them.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cofferdam appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He stood full six feet in height, with noble shoulders, and a chest like a coffer-dam.
Downstream there was a small wooden cofferdam and when he woke there were naked children splashing in the pool there and he rose and wrapped his jacket about his waist and walked out along the bank where he could sit and watch them.
Etymology
From coffer + dam.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.