divot

/ˈdɪvət/

//ˈdɪvət// noun

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

"divot" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“divot” is uncommon English (frequency #82,235 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,235
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A torn-up piece of turf, especially by a golf club in making a stroke or by a horse's hoof.

Corpus desk

Index EN-divot · divot · English

divot · rank #82,235 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,235
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH displeasing

Nearest frequency peer: displeasing (-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 “divot”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for divot
PropertyValue
Headworddivot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɪvət/
Letters5
Frequency rank#82,235
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “divot” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).divotfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “displeasing” (#82,234), “dispassionately” (#82,233), “documentarian” (#82,238). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “divot” is #82,235. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

divot is uncommon English at frequency #82,235 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɪvət/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for divot, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1530s, Scots divot (“turf”), also spelt devat, diffat, and the earliest form (1435), duvat(e), from Scottish Gaelic dubhad, a reduced form of dubh-fhàd, literally “black sod” (compare fàl (“turf, sod”)). The correct English form is divot, spelled D-I-V-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A torn-up piece of turf, especially by a golf club in making a stroke or by a horse's hoof.
  2. 2
    A disruption in an otherwise smooth contour.
  3. 3
    A drop in a graph between two linear portions (example)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Usually her voice came over the wire as something fresh and cool, as if a divot from a green golf-links had come sailing in at the office window, but this morning it seemed harsh and dry.
  2. Soon, thick dark tufts of hair began to spread across his scalp, hanging over his ears, a moor of unruly divots which he was first unable to tame and with time willingly cultivated.

Etymology

1530s, Scots divot (“turf”), also spelt devat, diffat, and the earliest form (1435), duvat(e), from Scottish Gaelic dubhad, a reduced form of dubh-fhàd, literally “black sod” (compare fàl (“turf, sod”)).

This word in other languages

chuleta(Español)divot(Français)Grassode(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 "divot"?
"divot" is spelled D-I-V-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪvət/.
What does "divot" mean?
As a noun, "divot" means: A torn-up piece of turf, especially by a golf club in making a stroke or by a horse's hoof.
How do you pronounce "divot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "divot" is /ˈdɪvət/. 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 "divot"?
1530s, Scots divot (“turf”), also spelt devat, diffat, and the earliest form (1435), duvat(e), from Scottish Gaelic dubhad, a reduced form of dubh-fhàd, literally “black sod” (compare fàl (“turf, sod”)). 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 "divot", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dryad#82,245dulls#82,249deist#82,218Daron#82,213

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list