dipstick

/ˈdɪpstɪk/

//ˈdɪpstɪk// noun

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

"dipstick" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dipstick” is uncommon English (frequency #69,791 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,791
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stick or rod used to measure the depth of a liquid. Often used to check the level at which a liquid in an opaque or inaccessible tank or reservoir stands; gauge.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dipstick · dipstick · English

dipstick · rank #69,791 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,791
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH disambiguation

Nearest frequency peer: disambiguation (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “dipstick”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “dipstick” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dipstick
PropertyValue
Headworddipstick
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɪpstɪk/
Letters8
Frequency rank#69,791
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dipstick” sits in English frequency

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).dipsticklands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “disambiguation” (#69,792), “dimwit” (#69,789), “dissenter” (#69,793). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dipstick is uncommon English at frequency #69,791 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɪpstɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for dipstick in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dip + stick. The correct English form is dipstick, spelled D-I-P-S-T-I-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stick or rod used to measure the depth of a liquid. Often used to check the level at which a liquid in an opaque or inaccessible tank or reservoir stands; gauge.
  2. 2
    An exciseman or supervisor who measures with a dipstick.
  3. 3
    The penis.
  4. 4
    A useless person of inferior intellect; a dipshit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I haven't checked the oil level of my car's motor since I lost the dipstick three months ago.
  2. That referee is a right dipstick.

Etymology

From dip + stick.

This word in other languages

varilla(Español)jauge(Français)Vollpfosten(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 "dipstick"?
"dipstick" is spelled D-I-P-S-T-I-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪpstɪk/.
What does "dipstick" mean?
As a noun, "dipstick" means: A stick or rod used to measure the depth of a liquid. Often used to check the level at which a liquid in an opaque or inaccessible tank or reservoir stands; gauge.
How do you pronounce "dipstick"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dipstick" is /ˈdɪpstɪk/. 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 "dipstick"?
From dip + stick. 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 "dipstick", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

divalent#69,794Donoghue#69,798Duchenne#69,802Danziger#69,776

What to do next

You've looked up "dipstick". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #69,791 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list