courthouse

/ˈkɔɹt.haʊs/

//ˈkɔɹt.haʊs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“courthouse” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,746. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,746
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A public building housing courts of law.

Corpus desk

Index EN-courthouse · courthouse · English

courthouse · rank #12,746 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #12,746
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Conway

Nearest frequency peer: Conway (-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 “courthouse”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “courthouse” 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).

courthouse vs courteous
80% similar

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

Key facts for courthouse
PropertyValue
Headwordcourthouse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɔɹt.haʊs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#12,746
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “courthouse”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Conway” (#12,745), “crank” (#12,747), “comforting” (#12,744). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “courthouse” is #12,746. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around courthouse (IPA /ˈkɔɹt.haʊs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,746 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for courthouse, with forms such as "ccourthouse", "coruthouse", and "courhtouse". 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 also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "courteous", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From court + house. The correct English form is courthouse, spelled C-O-U-R-T-H-O-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A public building housing courts of law.
  2. 2
    The public building where most American counties have their county offices.

Etymology

From court + house.

Synonyms

courtcourthouse

This word in other languages

palais de justice(Français)Gerichtsgebäude(Deutsch)tribunal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccourthouse
  • coruthouse
  • courhtouse
  • courrthouse
  • courthhouse
  • courthosue
  • courthoues
  • courthousse
  • courthuose
  • courtohuse
  • courtthouse
  • coutrhouse
  • cuorthouse
  • ocurthouse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of courthouse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccourthouse1coruthouse2courhtouse2courrthouse1courthhouse1courthosue2courthoues2courthousse1
Edit distance from "courthouse"

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 "courthouse"?
"courthouse" is spelled C-O-U-R-T-H-O-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɔɹt.haʊs/.
What does "courthouse" mean?
As a noun, "courthouse" means: A public building housing courts of law.
What words are commonly confused with "courthouse"?
"courthouse" is commonly confused with "courteous". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "courthouse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "courthouse" is /ˈkɔɹt.haʊs/. 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 "courthouse"?
From court + house. 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 "courthouse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

comforting#12,744fraudulent#12,778unfamiliar#12,708undefeated#12,707

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

arthritis14 variantsviolently14 variantsupgrading14 variantshostility14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list