curtailment

/kɚˈteɪlmənt/

//kɚˈteɪlmənt// noun

"curtailment" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“curtailment” is uncommon English (frequency #72,219 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,219
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of curtailing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-curtailment · curtailment · English

curtailment · rank #72,219 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,219
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cuenca

Nearest frequency peer: Cuenca (-3 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.

Long-tail ranks near “curtailment”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “curtailment” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for curtailment
PropertyValue
Headwordcurtailment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɚˈteɪlmənt/
Letters11
Frequency rank#72,219
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “curtailment” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Cuenca” (#72,216), “deanery” (#72,222), “Cuellar” (#72,215). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “curtailment” is #72,219. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

curtailment is uncommon English at frequency #72,219 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kɚˈteɪlmənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The act of curtailing.".

No misspelling variants are generated for curtailment in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From curtail + -ment. The correct English form is curtailment, spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-L-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of curtailing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The railways are fully alive to the position, and are sparing neither effort nor expense to provide more attractive trains and to effect economies, but in such circumstances some curtailment of services is inevitable.
  2. Curtailment was said to be imminent of services on the ex-Caledonian Glasgow-Carlisle main line via Carstairs, also between Glasgow and Lanark and on other ex-C.R. lines in the Glasgow area.

Etymology

From curtail + -ment.

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

How do you spell "curtailment"?
"curtailment" is spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-L-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kɚˈteɪlmənt/.
What does "curtailment" mean?
As a noun, "curtailment" means: The act of curtailing.
How do you pronounce "curtailment"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "curtailment" is /kɚˈteɪlmənt/. 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 "curtailment"?
From curtail + -ment. 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 "curtailment", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list