curio
/ˈkjʊə̯ɹiˌəʊ̯/
"curio" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“curio” is uncommon English (frequency #57,316 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #57,316
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A strange and interesting object; something that evokes curiosity.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | curio |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkjʊə̯ɹiˌəʊ̯/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #57,316 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “curio” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
curio is uncommon English at frequency #57,316 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkjʊə̯ɹiˌəʊ̯/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A strange and interesting object; something that evokes curiosity.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for curio, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of curiosity, 1851. Compare cabinet of curiosities and French objet de curiosité. The correct English form is curio, spelled C-U-R-I-O.
Definition
- 1A strange and interesting object; something that evokes curiosity.
Etymology
Clipping of curiosity, 1851. Compare cabinet of curiosities and French objet de curiosité.
This word in other languages
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 “curio”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-U-R-I-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkjʊə̯ɹiˌəʊ̯/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.