dodman
/ˈdɒdmən/
"dodman" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dodman” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A land-based snail.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dodman |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɒdmən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dodman” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dodman is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɒdmən/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
dodman has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly dod (“(archaic) rounded, bare hilltop”) + -man, in the sense of a creature carrying a hill on its back. The word dod is from dod (“to clip, cut or lop off”), from Middle English dodden (“to shave, shear; to trim (a plant); to poll (cattle); to cut … The correct English form is dodman, spelled D-O-D-M-A-N.
Definition
- 1A land-based snail.
- 2A snail's shell.
- 3Any shellfish which casts its shell, such as a lobster.
- 4A surveyor.
Etymology
Possibly dod (“(archaic) rounded, bare hilltop”) + -man, in the sense of a creature carrying a hill on its back. The word dod is from dod (“to clip, cut or lop off”), from Middle English dodden (“to shave, shear; to trim (a plant); to poll (cattle); to cut off (someone's head)”), from dod, dodde (“measure of grain”), from Old English. The surveyor sense appears to be based on a misconception by English amateur archaeologist and author Alfred Watkins (1855–1935) in his book The Old Straight Track (1925).
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 “dodman”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-D-M-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɒdmən/ (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.