cumbersome
/ˈkʌmbəsəm/
"cumbersome" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cumbersome” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,504 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #23,504
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Burdensome or hindering, as if a weight or drag; vexatious.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cumbersome |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkʌmbəsəm/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #23,504 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cumbersome” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cumbersome is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkʌmbəsəm/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,504 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for cumbersome, with forms such as "ccumbersome", "cmubersome", and "cubmersome". 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 nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cumbyrsum, cummyrsum; equivalent to cumber (“hindrance”) + -some. Compare encumber and incumbent. The correct English form is cumbersome, spelled C-U-M-B-E-R-S-O-M-E.
Definition
- 1Burdensome or hindering, as if a weight or drag; vexatious.
- 2Not easily managed or handled; awkward; clumsy.
- 3Hard, difficult, demanding to handle or get around with.
- 4Inert, lumbering, slow in movement.
Etymology
From Middle English cumbyrsum, cummyrsum; equivalent to cumber (“hindrance”) + -some. Compare encumber and incumbent.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccumbersome,cmubersome,cubmersome,cumbbersome,cumberosme,cumberrsome,cumbersmoe,cumbersoem,cumbersomme,cumberssome,cumbesrome,cumbresome,cumebrsome,cummbersome,ucmbersome
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cumbersome - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “cumbersome”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-U-M-B-E-R-S-O-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkʌmbəsəm/ (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.