dung beetle
/ˈdʌŋ biːtəl/
"dung-beetle" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dung beetle” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of the beetle of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles), especially of the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae, noted for rolling dung into balls for use as food or as brooding chambers.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dung beetle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdʌŋ biːtəl/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dung beetle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dung beetle is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdʌŋ biːtəl/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for dung beetle, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is dung beetle, spelled D-U-N-G- -B-E-E-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1Any of the beetle of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles), especially of the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae, noted for rolling dung into balls for use as food or as brooding chambers.
- 2Any of the true dung beetles of subfamily Scarabaeinae.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “dung beetle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-U-N-G- -B-E-E-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdʌŋ biːtəl/ (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.