coulee
/ˈkuːli/
"coulee" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“coulee” is an uncommon English word, ranked #62,802 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #62,802
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A stream, especially one in the western US or Canada, generally smaller than a bayou; it may (or may not) run dry in summer, may be sluggish, shallow, and wide (forming in effect a pond or slough),...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | coulee |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkuːli/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #62,802 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “coulee” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for coulee is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkuːli/. Corpus data places it at rank #62,802 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
coulee doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French coulée (“flow”), from couler (“to flow”). The correct English form is coulee, spelled C-O-U-L-E-E.
Definition
- 1A stream, especially one in the western US or Canada, generally smaller than a bayou; it may (or may not) run dry in summer, may be sluggish, shallow, and wide (forming in effect a pond or slough), or may have cut a deep gulch or ravine.
- 2A reach of water in a bayou that is like a slough but deeper.
- 3A lava flow (whether molten or solidified).
Etymology
From French coulée (“flow”), from couler (“to flow”).
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
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Using “coulee”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-L-E-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkuːli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.