earmark
/ˈɪəmɑːk/
"earmark" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“earmark” is an uncommon English word, ranked #71,475 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #71,475
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mark made or tag attached to the ear of an animal (chiefly a livestock animal), generally to identify or indicate something about the animal, such as ownership, health or gestation status, etc.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | earmark |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪəmɑːk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #71,475 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “earmark” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for earmark is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɪəmɑːk/. Corpus data places it at rank #71,475 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for earmark, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from ear + mark. The verb is derived from the noun. The correct English form is earmark, spelled E-A-R-M-A-R-K.
Definition
- 1A mark made or tag attached to the ear of an animal (chiefly a livestock animal), generally to identify or indicate something about the animal, such as ownership, health or gestation status, etc.
- 2A distinguishing or identifying mark or sign; specifically (archaic), a mark of ownership.
- 3An act of designating certain funds to be used for a specific purpose.
- 4Specifically, a designation by the Congress that certain federal funds be appropriated for a specific project.
Etymology
The noun is derived from ear + mark. The verb is derived from the noun.
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 “earmark”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-A-R-M-A-R-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɪəmɑːk/ (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.