dirigible
/ˈdɪɹɪd͡ʒəbəl/
"dirigible" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dirigible” is uncommon English (frequency #78,532 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,532
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A self-propelled airship that can be steered.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dirigible · dirigible · English
dirigible · rank #78,532 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #78,532
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH disbandment
Nearest frequency peer: disbandment (+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 “dirigible”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- diasporic
diasporic
21,473 corpus weight
- Dione
Dione
21,471 corpus weight
- dirigible
dirigible
21,469 corpus weight
- disbandment
disbandment
21,468 corpus weight
- discoverable
discoverable
21,466 corpus weight
- disestablis…
disestablishment
21,465 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “dirigible” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dirigible |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɪɹɪd͡ʒəbəl/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #78,532 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “dirigible” in English
Rare enough to double-check
dirigible is uncommon English at frequency #78,532 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɪɹɪd͡ʒəbəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A self-propelled airship that can be steered.".
Zero misspellings are on record for dirigible in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French dirigeable, from ballon dirigeable (“steerable balloon”). The correct English form is dirigible, spelled D-I-R-I-G-I-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1A self-propelled airship that can be steered.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dirigible appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
On the opposite wall, the R101 tragedy is recalled by the airship's tattered ensign in a glass case, a plaque from the Royal Airship Works and a photograph of the dirigible at her moorings.
People had time to think up some questions, including reporters who shouted “Are you going to shoot down the balloon?” at President Biden shortly before the dirigible came down.
Etymology
From French dirigeable, from ballon dirigeable (“steerable balloon”).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dirigible", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).