cuckold

/ˈkʌ.kəʊld/

//ˈkʌ.kəʊld// noun

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

"cuckold" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cuckold” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #34,847 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#34,847
frequency rank, English
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A man married to an adulterous spouse, especially when he is unaware or unaccepting of the fact.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cuckold vs cuckoo
71% similar

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

Key facts for cuckold
PropertyValue
Headwordcuckold
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʌ.kəʊld/
Letters7
Frequency rank#34,847
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cuckold” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cuckold is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkʌ.kəʊld/. Corpus data places it at rank #34,847 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for cuckold, with forms such as "ccuckold", "ccukold", and "cucckold". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "cuckoo", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cokolde, cokewold, cockewold, kukwald, kukeweld, from Old French cucuault; a compound of cucu (“cuckoo”) and Old French -auld. The word references the behavior of cuckoo birds where they lay their eggs in another bird’s nest. Cucu is eit… The correct English form is cuckold, spelled C-U-C-K-O-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A man married to an adulterous spouse, especially when he is unaware or unaccepting of the fact.
  2. 2
    A man who is attracted to or aroused by the sexual infidelity of a partner.
  3. 3
    A West Indian plectognath fish, Rhinesomus triqueter.
  4. 4
    The scrawled cowfish, Acanthostracion quadricornis and allied species.
  5. 5
    Synonym of fringed filefish.

Etymology

From Middle English cokolde, cokewold, cockewold, kukwald, kukeweld, from Old French cucuault; a compound of cucu (“cuckoo”) and Old French -auld. The word references the behavior of cuckoo birds where they lay their eggs in another bird’s nest. Cucu is either a directly derived onomatopoeic derivative of the cuckoo's call, or from Latin cucūlus. Latin cucūlus is a compound of onomatopoeic cucu (compare Late Latin cucus) and the diminutive suffix -ulus. Old French -auld is from Frankish *-wald (similar suffixes are used in some personal names within other Germanic languages as well; compare English Harold, for instance), a suffixal use of Frankish *wald (“wielder, ruler, leader”), from Proto-Germanic *waldaz (compare German Gewalt, from the related *waldą (“power, might”)), from *waldaną (“to rule”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong; to rule”). Appears in Middle English in noun form circa 1250 as cokewald. First known use of the verb form is 1589.

Synonyms

Ostracion triquetersmooth trunkfishActeoncornutocuckcuckoldcuckholdhoddy-peakskimmingtonVulcanian

This word in other languages

cornudo(Español)cocu(Français)Gehörnter(Deutsch)chifrudo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccuckold,ccukold,cucckold,cuckkold,cucklod,cuckodl,cuckoldd,cuckolld,cucokld,cukcold,ucckold

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccuckold1ccukold2cucckold1cuckkold1cucklod2cuckodl2cuckoldd1cuckolld1
Edit distance from "cuckold"

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 "cuckold"?
"cuckold" is spelled C-U-C-K-O-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌ.kəʊld/.
What does "cuckold" mean?
As a noun, "cuckold" means: A man married to an adulterous spouse, especially when he is unaware or unaccepting of the fact.
What words are commonly confused with "cuckold"?
"cuckold" is commonly confused with "cuckoo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cuckold"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cuckold" is /ˈkʌ.kəʊld/. 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 "cuckold"?
From Middle English cokolde, cokewold, cockewold, kukwald, kukeweld, from Old French cucuault; a compound of cucu (“cuckoo”) and Old French -auld. The word references the behavior of cuckoo birds where they lay their eggs in another bird’s nest. C... 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.

Using “cuckold”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-U-C-K-O-L-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkʌ.kəʊld/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “cuckoo” - see the side-by-side comparison. cuckold vs cuckoo
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list