deathmatch

/ˈdɛθ.mæt͡ʃ/

//ˈdɛθ.mæt͡ʃ// noun

"deathmatch" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“deathmatch” is uncommon English (frequency #51,648 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,648
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A competitive mode found in first-person shooter games in which competitors attempt to assassinate one another.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deathmatch · deathmatch · English

deathmatch · rank #51,648 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,648
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH debutante

Nearest frequency peer: debutante (+1 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 “deathmatch”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for deathmatch
PropertyValue
Headworddeathmatch
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɛθ.mæt͡ʃ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#51,648
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “deathmatch” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).deathmatchfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “debutante” (#51,649), “datum” (#51,645), “darshan” (#51,644). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “deathmatch” is #51,648. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

deathmatch is uncommon English at frequency #51,648 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɛθ.mæt͡ʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A competitive mode found in first-person shooter games in which competitors attempt to assassinate one another.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for deathmatch in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From death + match. The correct English form is deathmatch, spelled D-E-A-T-H-M-A-T-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A competitive mode found in first-person shooter games in which competitors attempt to assassinate one another.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There are only eight levels but the varied game modes (including time attacks, survivals, team deathmatches, hunts, and sieges) in both single and multi-player keeps things interesting.
  2. The player continued to describe their own experience with deathmatch, explaining sometimes it takes several minutes for the deathmatch to load — meaning by the time they spawn, the game is almost over.

Etymology

From death + match.

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 "deathmatch"?
"deathmatch" is spelled D-E-A-T-H-M-A-T-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɛθ.mæt͡ʃ/.
What does "deathmatch" mean?
As a noun, "deathmatch" means: A competitive mode found in first-person shooter games in which competitors attempt to assassinate one another.
How do you pronounce "deathmatch"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deathmatch" is /ˈdɛθ.mæt͡ʃ/. 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 "deathmatch"?
From death + match. 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 "deathmatch", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list