dirty word
/ˈdɜːtiˌwɜːd/
"dirty-word" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dirty word” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A word that is considered vulgar, not necessarily sexual in nature.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dirty word |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɜːtiˌwɜːd/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dirty word” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
dirty word is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɜːtiˌwɜːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
dirty word has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is dirty word, spelled D-I-R-T-Y- -W-O-R-D.
Definition
- 1A word that is considered vulgar, not necessarily sexual in nature.
- 2The name of a topic that a person prefers not to hear or discuss.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “dirty word”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-R-T-Y- -W-O-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɜːtiˌwɜːd/ (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
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.