Dalek
/ˈdɑːlɛk/
"dalek" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Dalek” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #35,675 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #35,675
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A member of a species of extraterrestrial cyborg mutants who appear in the television programme Doctor Who and are known for travelling in metallic shells, having monotone, mechanically distorted v...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Dalek |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɑːlɛk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #35,675 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Dalek” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Dalek is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɑːlɛk/. Corpus data places it at rank #35,675 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Dalek, with forms such as "adlek", "daelk", and "dalekk". 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 also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "date", "dark", "Dave", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by Terry Nation in 1963 for his script of The Mutants (later retitled "The Daleks"), the second serial of the first season of Doctor Who. Accounts of how he devised the word vary. Within the Doctor Who universe, the word is supposed to be related to … The correct English form is Dalek, spelled D-A-L-E-K.
Definition
- 1A member of a species of extraterrestrial cyborg mutants who appear in the television programme Doctor Who and are known for travelling in metallic shells, having monotone, mechanically distorted voices, repeating a limited number of phrases, and their fanatical obsession with exterminating other, non-Dalek beings.
- 2One who is dogmatic, unfeeling and determined.
Etymology
Coined by Terry Nation in 1963 for his script of The Mutants (later retitled "The Daleks"), the second serial of the first season of Doctor Who. Accounts of how he devised the word vary. Within the Doctor Who universe, the word is supposed to be related to the name of the people from whom the Daleks evolved, either the Kaleds (as according to later serial Genesis of the Daleks) or the Dals (as in The Daleks), or to derive from a word meaning "gods" in their (fictional) language, in which the sacred "Book of Predictions" is written. According to the I, Davros audio fiction the book reads "...and on that day, men will become as gods", with the last word pronounced "Dal-eks".
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: adlek,daelk,dalekk,dalke,dallek,ddalek,dlaek
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Dalek - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “Dalek”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-A-L-E-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɑːlɛk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “date” - see the side-by-side comparison. Dalek vs date
- 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.