cottontail

/ˈkɑt.n̩teɪl/

//ˈkɑt.n̩teɪl// noun

"cottontail" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cottontail” is uncommon English (frequency #79,416 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,416
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A rabbit of any of various species in genus Sylvilagus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cottontail · cottontail · English

cottontail · rank #79,416 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,416
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corruptible

Nearest frequency peer: corruptible (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “cottontail”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cottontail” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cottontail
PropertyValue
Headwordcottontail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɑt.n̩teɪl/
Letters10
Frequency rank#79,416
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cottontail” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “corruptible” (#79,414), “counterbalanced” (#79,418), “cowhide” (#79,419). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cottontail” is #79,416. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cottontail is uncommon English at frequency #79,416 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɑt.n̩teɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for cottontail in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cotton + tail. The correct English form is cottontail, spelled C-O-T-T-O-N-T-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rabbit of any of various species in genus Sylvilagus.
  2. 2
    A person with a tanned body and untanned buttocks, resembling a cottontail rabbit's dark fur and light tail.

Etymology

From cotton + tail.

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); 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 "cottontail"?
"cottontail" is spelled C-O-T-T-O-N-T-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɑt.n̩teɪl/.
What does "cottontail" mean?
As a noun, "cottontail" means: A rabbit of any of various species in genus Sylvilagus.
How do you pronounce "cottontail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cottontail" is /ˈkɑt.n̩teɪl/. 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 "cottontail"?
From cotton + tail. 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 "cottontail", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list