dreadnought

/ˈdɹɛd.nɔːt/

//ˈdɹɛd.nɔːt// noun

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

"dreadnought" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dreadnought” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,899. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,899
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A battleship, especially of the World War I era, in which most of the firepower is concentrated in large guns that are of the same caliber.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dreadnought · dreadnought · English

dreadnought · rank #45,899 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,899
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dreadlocks

Nearest frequency peer: dreadlocks (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “dreadnought”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “dreadnought” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dreadnought
PropertyValue
Headworddreadnought
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɹɛd.nɔːt/
Letters11
Frequency rank#45,899
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dreadnought”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).dreadnoughtlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “dreadlocks” (#45,898), “dregs” (#45,900), “drawdown” (#45,897). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dreadnought” is #45,899. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around dreadnought (IPA /ˈdɹɛd.nɔːt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,899 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for dreadnought, with forms such as "ddreadnought", "deradnought", and "draednought". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Named after HMS Dreadnought, the first battleship finished of this type, itself named for Etymology 2. The correct English form is dreadnought, spelled D-R-E-A-D-N-O-U-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A battleship, especially of the World War I era, in which most of the firepower is concentrated in large guns that are of the same caliber.
  2. 2
    A battleship, especially of the World War I era, in which most of the firepower is concentrated in large guns that are of the same caliber.
  3. 3
    One that is the largest or the most powerful of its kind.
  4. 4
    One that is the largest or the most powerful of its kind.
  5. 5
    One that is the largest or the most powerful of its kind.
  6. 6
    One that is the largest or the most powerful of its kind.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Perturbed at being overtaken, the USS Texas is leading the 6th Battle Squadron at 22-and-a-half knots as the engineers pour everything they have into the effort. Behind the colossal clouds of smoke and cinders they put out come a seemingly-endless stream of dreadnoughts, battle flags flying from every mast and line they can find. It is the Grand Fleet.
  2. Sovereign is the flagship of the rogue Spectre Saren. An enormous dreadnought larger than any other ship in any known fleet, Sovereign is crewed with both geth and krogan. At two kilometers long, its spinal-mounted main gun is likely capable of penetrating another dreadnought's kinetic barriers with a single shot.

Etymology

Named after HMS Dreadnought, the first battleship finished of this type, itself named for Etymology 2.

This word in other languages

dreadnought(Français)Schlachtschiff(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddreadnought
  • deradnought
  • draednought
  • dreaddnought
  • dreadnnought
  • dreadnoguht
  • dreadnougght
  • dreadnoughht
  • dreadnoughtt
  • dreadnougth
  • dreadnouhgt
  • dreadnuoght
  • dreadonught
  • dreandought
  • dredanought
  • drreadnought
  • rdeadnought

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dreadnought - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddreadnought1deradnought2draednought2dreaddnought1dreadnnought1dreadnoguht2dreadnougght1dreadnoughht1
Edit distance from "dreadnought"

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 "dreadnought"?
"dreadnought" is spelled D-R-E-A-D-N-O-U-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɹɛd.nɔːt/.
What does "dreadnought" mean?
As a noun, "dreadnought" means: A battleship, especially of the World War I era, in which most of the firepower is concentrated in large guns that are of the same caliber.
What are common misspellings of "dreadnought"?
Common misspellings include "ddreadnought", "deradnought", "draednought", "dreaddnought", "dreadnnought". The correct spelling is "dreadnought".
How do you pronounce "dreadnought"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dreadnought" is /ˈdɹɛd.nɔːt/. 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 "dreadnought"?
Named after HMS Dreadnought, the first battleship finished of this type, itself named for Etymology 2. 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 "dreadnought", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

demoralized#45,879fantasizing#45,920gentlemanly#45,939contaminant#45,858

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

languishing17 variantspreposition17 variantstelemedicine17 variantsparenthesis17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list