derecho
/dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃoʊ/
"derecho" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“derecho” is uncommon English (frequency #78,523 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,523
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A windstorm characterized by strong, straight-line winds.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | derecho |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃoʊ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #78,523 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “derecho” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
derecho is uncommon English at frequency #78,523 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃoʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A windstorm characterized by strong, straight-line winds.".
Zero misspellings are on record for derecho in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Spanish derecho (“straight”). First used by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in 1888, apparently coined to distinguish the winds from tornadoes, which rotate; compare tornado. Doublet of direct. The correct English form is derecho, spelled D-E-R-E-C-H-O.
Definition
- 1A windstorm characterized by strong, straight-line winds.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Spanish derecho (“straight”). First used by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in 1888, apparently coined to distinguish the winds from tornadoes, which rotate; compare tornado. Doublet of direct.
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 “derecho”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-R-E-C-H-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃoʊ/ (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.