dumbass

/ˈdʌm.æs/

//ˈdʌm.æs// noun

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

"dumbass" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dumbass” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,503. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,503
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stupid or foolish person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dumbass · dumbass · English

dumbass · rank #13,503 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #13,503
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Dover

Nearest frequency peer: Dover (-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 “dumbass”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dumbass” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dumbass vs Donbass
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dumbass
PropertyValue
Headworddumbass
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdʌm.æs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,503
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dumbass”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).dumbasslands 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 “Dover” (#13,502), “dungeon” (#13,504), “distressed” (#13,501). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dumbass” is #13,503. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around dumbass (IPA /ˈdʌm.æs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,503 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A stupid or foolish person.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for dumbass, with forms such as "ddumbass", "dmubass", and "dubmass". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Donbass", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dumb + ass. It is likely that ¹ass (= donkey), not ²ass (= buttocks), was the original sense within this compound noun (solid compound or open compound), but neither sense is precluded, and many people today may uncritically parse the term in the latte… The correct English form is dumbass, spelled D-U-M-B-A-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stupid or foolish person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The dumbass walked off with my car keys and left me hers.

Etymology

From dumb + ass. It is likely that ¹ass (= donkey), not ²ass (= buttocks), was the original sense within this compound noun (solid compound or open compound), but neither sense is precluded, and many people today may uncritically parse the term in the latter way, even if it is misapprehensive. Apparent analogy with forms such as hard-ass and big-ass would naturally lend support to the second parsing. A similar synergy can be seen in the fact that the terms buttload and assload originated as literally meaning a cartload and the load transportable by a single donkey (respectively), but probably most English speakers today would assume that their derivation involves the buttocks.

This word in other languages

torpe(Español)abruti(Français)Blödmann(Deutsch)tonto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddumbass
  • dmubass
  • dubmass
  • dumabss
  • dumbas
  • dumbbass
  • dumbsas
  • dummbass
  • udmbass

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dumbass - 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.

ddumbass1dmubass2dubmass2dumabss2dumbas1dumbbass1dumbsas2dummbass1
Edit distance from "dumbass"

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 "dumbass"?
"dumbass" is spelled D-U-M-B-A-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdʌm.æs/.
What does "dumbass" mean?
As a noun, "dumbass" means: A stupid or foolish person.
What words are commonly confused with "dumbass"?
"dumbass" is commonly confused with "Donbass". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dumbass"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dumbass" is /ˈdʌm.æs/. 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 "dumbass"?
From dumb + ass. It is likely that ¹ass (= donkey), not ²ass (= buttocks), was the original sense within this compound noun (solid compound or open compound), but neither sense is precluded, and many people today may uncritically parse the term in... 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 "dumbass", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dungeon#13,504fasting#13,514Cologne#13,484Claudia#13,482

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

hector9 variantsBaltic9 variantsattained9 variantsinvent9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list