doldrums

/ˈdɒldɹəmz/

//ˈdɒldɹəmz// noun

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

"doldrums" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“doldrums” is uncommon English (frequency #57,346 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,346
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Usually preceded by the: a state of apathy or lack of interest; a situation where one feels boredom, ennui, or tedium; a state of listlessness or malaise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-doldrums · doldrums · English

doldrums · rank #57,346 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,346
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH distinctivene…

Nearest frequency peer: distinctiveness (-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 “doldrums”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for doldrums
PropertyValue
Headworddoldrums
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɒldɹəmz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#57,346
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “doldrums” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).doldrumsfalls 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: “distinctiveness” (#57,345), “disillusion” (#57,344), “Dougal” (#57,348). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “doldrums” is #57,346. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

doldrums is uncommon English at frequency #57,346 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɒldɹəmz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for doldrums in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From obsolete doldrum (“slothful or stupid person”) plus the plural suffix -s. Doldrum is possibly derived from dull or Middle English dold (past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make or become blunt or dull; to make or become dull-witted or stupid; to mak… The correct English form is doldrums, spelled D-O-L-D-R-U-M-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Usually preceded by the: a state of apathy or lack of interest; a situation where one feels boredom, ennui, or tedium; a state of listlessness or malaise.
  2. 2
    Usually preceded by the: the state of a sailing ship when it is impeded by calms or light, baffling winds, and is unable to make progress.
  3. 3
    Usually preceded by the: a part of the ocean near the equator where calms, squalls, and light, baffling winds are common.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I was in the doldrums yesterday and just didn’t feel inspired.
  2. [T]aken very ill in Cheapside—three pennyworth of brandy, and got home to bed at nine, in the doldrums.

Etymology

From obsolete doldrum (“slothful or stupid person”) plus the plural suffix -s. Doldrum is possibly derived from dull or Middle English dold (past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make or become blunt or dull; to make or become dull-witted or stupid; to make or become inactive”), from dul, dol, dolle (“not sharp, blunt, dull; not quick-witted, stupid; lethargic, sluggish”); see further at dull), modelled after tantrum.

This word in other languages

Pot-au-Noir(Français)Trübsal(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 "doldrums"?
"doldrums" is spelled D-O-L-D-R-U-M-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɒldɹəmz/.
What does "doldrums" mean?
As a noun, "doldrums" means: Usually preceded by the: a state of apathy or lack of interest; a situation where one feels boredom, ennui, or tedium; a state of listlessness or malaise.
How do you pronounce "doldrums"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "doldrums" is /ˈdɒldɹəmz/. 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 "doldrums"?
From obsolete doldrum (“slothful or stupid person”) plus the plural suffix -s. Doldrum is possibly derived from dull or Middle English dold (past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make or become blunt or dull; to make or become dull-witted or stup... 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 "doldrums", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

disclaim#57,343dovetail#57,349Eastlake#57,359ellipsis#57,364

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list