colliery

/ˈkɒl.jə.ɹi/

//ˈkɒl.jə.ɹi// noun

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

The verdict

“colliery” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,738. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,738
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An underground coal mine, together with its surface buildings.

Corpus desk

Index EN-colliery · colliery · English

colliery · rank #30,738 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,738
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coincidental

Nearest frequency peer: coincidental (-2 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 “colliery”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “colliery” 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).

colliery vs collie
75% similar
colliery vs collier
88% similar
colliery vs collider
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for colliery
PropertyValue
Headwordcolliery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒl.jə.ɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#30,738
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “colliery”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “coincidental” (#30,736), “clitoris” (#30,735), “Corcoran” (#30,741). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “colliery” is #30,738. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around colliery (IPA /ˈkɒl.jə.ɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,738 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for colliery, with forms such as "ccolliery", "cloliery", and "coliery". 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. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "collie", "collier", "collider", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From collier + -y. The correct English form is colliery, spelled C-O-L-L-I-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An underground coal mine, together with its surface buildings.
  2. 2
    A facility that supplies coal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. From the hillock a score of red paths diverged as black ones do from a colliery, one of them leading to the homestead itself […]

Etymology

From collier + -y.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccolliery
  • cloliery
  • coliery
  • colilery
  • colleiry
  • collierry
  • collieryy
  • collieyr
  • collirey
  • oclliery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of colliery - 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.

ccolliery1cloliery2coliery1colilery2colleiry2collierry1collieryy1collieyr2
Edit distance from "colliery"

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 "colliery"?
"colliery" is spelled C-O-L-L-I-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒl.jə.ɹi/.
What does "colliery" mean?
As a noun, "colliery" means: An underground coal mine, together with its surface buildings.
What words are commonly confused with "colliery"?
"colliery" is commonly confused with "collie", "collier", "collider". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "colliery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "colliery" is /ˈkɒl.jə.ɹi/. 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 "colliery"?
From collier + -y. 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 "colliery", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list