cult

/kʌlt/

//kʌlt// noun

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

"cult" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cult” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,122. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,122
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The veneration, devotion, and religious rites given to a deity (especially in a historical polytheistic context), or (in a Christian context) to a saint; a subset of worship.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cult · cult · English

cult · rank #6,122 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,122
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH consisting

Nearest frequency peer: consisting (-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 “cult”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cult” 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).

cult vs cut
75% similar
cult vs cup
50% similar
cult vs cum
50% similar

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

Key facts for cult
PropertyValue
Headwordcult
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kʌlt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#6,122
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cult”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cultlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “consisting” (#6,121), “dairy” (#6,123), “Colin” (#6,120). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cult” is #6,122. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cult (IPA /kʌlt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,122 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cult, with forms such as "ccult", "clut", and "cullt". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cut", "cup", "cum", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Derived from French culte, from Latin cultus (“care, adoration; cult”), from colō (“cultivate; protect”). The correct English form is cult, spelled C-U-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The veneration, devotion, and religious rites given to a deity (especially in a historical polytheistic context), or (in a Christian context) to a saint; a subset of worship.
  2. 2
    A group of people having an obsession with or intense admiration for a particular activity, idea, person or thing.
  3. 3
    A group, sect or movement following an unorthodox religious or philosophical system of beliefs, especially one in which members remove and exclude themselves from greater society, including family members not part of the cult, and show extreme devotion to a charismatic leader.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. imperial cult
  2. the cult of Mary

Etymology

Derived from French culte, from Latin cultus (“care, adoration; cult”), from colō (“cultivate; protect”).

This word in other languages

veneración(Español)culte(Français)Kult(Deutsch)culto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccult
  • clut
  • cullt
  • cultt
  • cutl
  • uclt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccult1clut2cullt1cultt1cutl2uclt2
Edit distance from "cult"

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 "cult"?
"cult" is spelled C-U-L-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kʌlt/.
What does "cult" mean?
As a noun, "cult" means: The veneration, devotion, and religious rites given to a deity (especially in a historical polytheistic context), or (in a Christian context) to a saint; a subset of worship.
What words are commonly confused with "cult"?
"cult" is commonly confused with "cut", "cup", "cum". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cult"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cult" is /kʌlt/. 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 "cult"?
Derived from French culte, from Latin cultus (“care, adoration; cult”), from colō (“cultivate; protect”). 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 "cult", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

euro#6,136sang#6,094jets#6,155pour#6,085

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

dairy6 variantsColin6 variantsdiary6 variantsdrill6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list