dingbat

/ˈdɪŋbæt/

//ˈdɪŋbæt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dingbat" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dingbat” is uncommon English (frequency #98,030 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,030
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A silly, crazy or stupid person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dingbat · dingbat · English

dingbat · rank #98,030 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,030
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Diggins

Nearest frequency peer: Diggins (-2 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 “dingbat”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dingbat
PropertyValue
Headworddingbat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɪŋbæt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#98,030
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dingbat” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).dingbatfalls 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: “Diggins” (#98,028), “difficultly” (#98,027), “discomforting” (#98,033). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dingbat” is #98,030. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dingbat is uncommon English at frequency #98,030 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɪŋbæt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dingbat, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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: Unknown, US mid 19th century. The word-puzzle sense comes from the board game Dingbats, which is based on these puzzles. The correct English form is dingbat, spelled D-I-N-G-B-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A silly, crazy or stupid person.
  2. 2
    A special ornamental typographical symbol, such as a bullet, an arrow, a pointing hand etc.
  3. 3
    An architectural style of apartment building, where the second storey overhangs an area for parking cars.
  4. 4
    A kind of word puzzle involving pictures or typography that hint at the solution.
  5. 5
    Anything that can be thrown or swung with force against something else.
  6. 6
    A small device or gadget, the correct term for which is forgotten or unknown.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 'Midge was such a dingbat', Jenny Fields wrote in her autobiography, 'that she went to Hawaii for a vacation during World War Two.'
  2. I hung around the older crews while they sling smack to dingbats

Etymology

Unknown, US mid 19th century. The word-puzzle sense comes from the board game Dingbats, which is based on these puzzles.

This word in other languages

idiota(Español)Knallkopf(Deutsch)

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 "dingbat"?
"dingbat" is spelled D-I-N-G-B-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪŋbæt/.
What does "dingbat" mean?
As a noun, "dingbat" means: A silly, crazy or stupid person.
How do you pronounce "dingbat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dingbat" is /ˈdɪŋbæt/. 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 "dingbat"?
Unknown, US mid 19th century. The word-puzzle sense comes from the board game Dingbats, which is based on these puzzles. 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 "dingbat", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Diggins#98,028dernier#98,016Ebonics#98,054Enderby#98,070

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list