dodo
/ˈdəʊdəʊ/
"dodo" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dodo” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #33,624 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #33,624
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dodo |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdəʊdəʊ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #33,624 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dodo” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dodo is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdəʊdəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #33,624 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for dodo, with forms such as "ddodo", "ddoo", and "doddo". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dog", "don", "DVD", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain. Perhaps from obsolete Portuguese doudo (“fool, simpleton, silly, stupid”) or Dutch dodaars. First attested in the 17th century. The correct English form is dodo, spelled D-O-D-O.
Definition
- 1A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius.
- 2A person or organisation which is very old or has very old-fashioned views or is not willing to change and adapt.
- 3A hole in one.
Etymology
Uncertain. Perhaps from obsolete Portuguese doudo (“fool, simpleton, silly, stupid”) or Dutch dodaars. First attested in the 17th century.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddodo,ddoo,doddo,dood,oddo
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dodo - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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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Using “dodo”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-D-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdəʊdəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “dog” - see the side-by-side comparison. dodo vs dog
- 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.