dreamcatcher

noun

"dreamcatcher" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dreamcatcher” is an uncommon English word, ranked #69,010 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#69,010
frequency rank, English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A decorative Native American object in the form of a hoop and net with attachments such as feathers, traditionally believed by the Ojibwa to “filter out” bad dreams.

Key facts for dreamcatcher
PropertyValue
Headworddreamcatcher
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Frequency rank#69,010
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dreamcatcher” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). dreamcatcher lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for dreamcatcher is 12 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #69,010 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A decorative Native American object in the form of a hoop and net with attachments such as feathers, traditionally believed by the Ojibwa to “filter out” bad dreams.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for dreamcatcher, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- Proto-West Germanic *draum Old English drēam Middle English drem English dream Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Indo-European *kaptós Proto-Italic *kaptos Vu… The correct English form is dreamcatcher, spelled D-R-E-A-M-C-A-T-C-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A decorative Native American object in the form of a hoop and net with attachments such as feathers, traditionally believed by the Ojibwa to “filter out” bad dreams.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- Proto-West Germanic *draum Old English drēam Middle English drem English dream Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Indo-European *kaptós Proto-Italic *kaptos Vulgar Latin captus Proto-Indo-European *-yetider. Vulgar Latin -io Vulgar Latin *captiāre Old French chacierbor. Anglo-Norman cachierbor. Middle English cacchen English catch Latin -ariusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English catcher English dreamcatcher From dream + catcher.

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); 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 "dreamcatcher"?
"dreamcatcher" is spelled D-R-E-A-M-C-A-T-C-H-E-R.
What does "dreamcatcher" mean?
As a noun, "dreamcatcher" means: A decorative Native American object in the form of a hoop and net with attachments such as feathers, traditionally believed by the Ojibwa to “filter out” bad dreams.
What is the origin of the word "dreamcatcher"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- Proto-West Germanic *draum Old English drēam Middle English drem English dream Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Indo-European *kaptós Proto-Italic ... 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.

Using “dreamcatcher”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-R-E-A-M-C-A-T-C-H-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list