cottonwood

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“cottonwood” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,402. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,402
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tree from one of number of species of tree in the genus Populus (poplars), typically growing along watercourses, with fluffy catkins.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cottonwood · cottonwood · English

cottonwood · rank #37,402 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,402
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cotter

Nearest frequency peer: cotter (-1 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 “cottonwood”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cottonwood” 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
Key facts for cottonwood
PropertyValue
Headwordcottonwood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#37,402
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cottonwood”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cotter” (#37,401), “Cosgrove” (#37,400), “crankshaft” (#37,404). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cottonwood” is #37,402. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around cottonwood, anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,402 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for cottonwood, with forms such as "ccottonwood", "cotonwood", and "cototnwood". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cotton + wood. The correct English form is cottonwood, spelled C-O-T-T-O-N-W-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tree from one of number of species of tree in the genus Populus (poplars), typically growing along watercourses, with fluffy catkins.
  2. 2
    Populus sect. Aigeiros, a taxonomic section of the poplar genus
  3. 3
    A cottonwood hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum, syn. Hibiscus tiliaceus), a flowering shrub or tree in the mallow family.
  4. 4
    A tree of species Ceiba pentandra, native to the American tropics and west Africa; silk-cotton tree.
  5. 5
    Several species of trees endemic to New Zealand.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Between these canyons the river has a low but rather narrow flood plain, with cottonwood groves scattered here and there, and a chaparral of mesquite bearing beans and thorns.
  2. […] and through the middle of this forest, from wall to wall, ran a winding line of brilliant green which marked the course of cottonwoods and willows.

Etymology

From cotton + wood.

This word in other languages

álamo(Español)Pappel(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccottonwood
  • cotonwood
  • cototnwood
  • cottnowood
  • cottonnwood
  • cottonowod
  • cottonwod
  • cottonwodo
  • cottonwoodd
  • cottonwwood
  • cottownood
  • ctotonwood
  • octtonwood

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccottonwood1cotonwood1cototnwood2cottnowood2cottonnwood1cottonowod2cottonwod1cottonwodo2
Edit distance from "cottonwood"

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 "cottonwood"?
"cottonwood" is spelled C-O-T-T-O-N-W-O-O-D.
What does "cottonwood" mean?
As a noun, "cottonwood" means: A tree from one of number of species of tree in the genus Populus (poplars), typically growing along watercourses, with fluffy catkins.
What are common misspellings of "cottonwood"?
Common misspellings include "ccottonwood", "cotonwood", "cototnwood", "cottnowood", "cottonnwood". The correct spelling is "cottonwood".
What is the origin of the word "cottonwood"?
From cotton + wood. 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 "cottonwood", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

crankshaft#37,404conveyance#37,396chloroform#37,379capricious#37,366

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Confucian13 variantsdesktops13 variantsdisrepair13 variantscentipede13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list