cut to the quick
"cut-to-the-quick" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cut to the quick” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To hurt a person deeply, especially emotionally.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cut to the quick |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cut to the quick” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cut to the quick is 16 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for cut to the quick in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is cut to the quick, spelled C-U-T- -T-O- -T-H-E- -Q-U-I-C-K.
Definition
- 1To hurt a person deeply, especially emotionally.
- 2To incisively discuss the underlying sensitive or unpleasant root of a given topic.
- 3Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cut, quick.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “cut to the quick”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-U-T- -T-O- -T-H-E- -Q-U-I-C-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.