dross
/dɹɒs/
"dross" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dross” is an uncommon English word, ranked #61,429 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #61,429
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Waste or impure matter.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dross |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɹɒs/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #61,429 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dross” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dross is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɹɒs/. Corpus data places it at rank #61,429 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dross, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English drosse, dros, from Old English drōs, from Proto-Germanic *drōhs (“dregs, sediment”). Also compare Old English drōsna, drōsne (“a ground, sediment, lees, dregs, dirt, ear wax”), from Proto-Germanic *drōhsnǭ, *drōhsnō (“dregs, sediment”), … The correct English form is dross, spelled D-R-O-S-S.
Definition
- 1Waste or impure matter.
- 2Waste or impure matter.
- 3Waste or impure matter.
- 4Worthless or trivial matter.
- 5Residual raw opium left in an opium pipe which can be recycled for further sale or use.
Etymology
From Middle English drosse, dros, from Old English drōs, from Proto-Germanic *drōhs (“dregs, sediment”). Also compare Old English drōsna, drōsne (“a ground, sediment, lees, dregs, dirt, ear wax”), from Proto-Germanic *drōhsnǭ, *drōhsnō (“dregs, sediment”), derived from *drōhs. Alternatively, this may be from *dragjō + *-snō (“yeast, sediment”; compare *dragjō (“yeast”)), as if from *drēcg + -sn. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks (“sediment, yeast”). Cognate with Scots dros, drose, drosse (“small particles, fragments, dross”), Middle Dutch droes (“dregs”), Dutch droesem (“dregs”), German Drusen (“lees, dregs”), Latin fracēs (“grounds or dregs of oil”). Related also to drast, dregs.
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
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Using “dross”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-R-O-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɹɒs/ (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.