driftwood
/ˈdɹɪftwʊd/
"driftwood" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“driftwood” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #40,668 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #40,668
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A floating piece, or pieces, of wood that drifts with the current of a body of water.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | driftwood |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɹɪftwʊd/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #40,668 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “driftwood” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for driftwood is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɹɪftwʊd/. Corpus data places it at rank #40,668 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for driftwood, with forms such as "ddriftwood", "dirftwood", and "drfitwood". 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. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From drift + wood. The correct English form is driftwood, spelled D-R-I-F-T-W-O-O-D.
Definition
- 1A floating piece, or pieces, of wood that drifts with the current of a body of water.
- 2Such a piece of wood that has been cast ashore.
Etymology
From drift + wood.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddriftwood,dirftwood,drfitwood,drifftwood,driftowod,drifttwood,driftwod,driftwodo,driftwoodd,driftwwood,drifwtood,dritfwood,drriftwood,rdiftwood
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of driftwood - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "driftwood"?
What does "driftwood" mean?
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Using “driftwood”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-R-I-F-T-W-O-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɹɪftwʊd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.