double down

verb

"double-down" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“double down” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To double one's wager, particularly, the name of a specific doubling bet allowed in blackjack.

Corpus desk

Index EN-double-down · double down · English

double down · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for double down
PropertyValue
Headworddouble down
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “double down” in English

double downsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

double down is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for double down in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is double down, spelled D-O-U-B-L-E- -D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To double one's wager, particularly, the name of a specific doubling bet allowed in blackjack.
  2. 2
    To significantly increase a risk, investment, or other commitment; to respond to a challenge (e.g. to an opinion) by reinforcing or extending one's position rather than moderating it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He'd bet three thousand and double down to six thousand, all of it hanging on the turn of the next card.
  2. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama all want to get out of Iraq. They all want to double down in Afghanistan.

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

How do you spell "double down"?
"double down" is spelled D-O-U-B-L-E- -D-O-W-N.
What does "double down" mean?
As a verb, "double down" means: To double one's wager, particularly, the name of a specific doubling bet allowed in blackjack.
What language does "double down" come from?
"double down" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list