elbow
/ˈɛlbəʊ̯/
"elbow" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“elbow” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,037 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,037
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The joint between the upper arm and the forearm.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | elbow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛlbəʊ̯/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #9,037 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “elbow” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for elbow is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛlbəʊ̯/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,037 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for elbow, with forms such as "elbbow", "elboww", and "elbwo". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Elo", "elon", "Elmo", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English elbowe (“elbow”), from Old English elboga, elnboga (“elbow”), from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô (“elbow”), equivalent to ell + bow. Cognate with Scots elbuck (“elbow”), Saterland Frisian Älbooge (“elbow”), Dutch elleboog (“elbow”), Low Germ… The correct English form is elbow, spelled E-L-B-O-W.
Definition
- 1The joint between the upper arm and the forearm.
- 2Any turn or bend like that of the elbow, in a wall, building, coastline, etc.; an angular or jointed part of any structure, such as the raised arm of a chair or sofa, or a short pipe fitting, turning at an angle or bent.
- 3A detective.
- 4Part of a basketball court located at the intersection of the free-throw line and the free-throw lane.
- 5A hit, strike, or blow with the elbow.
- 6Two nearby crossings of a rope.
Etymology
From Middle English elbowe (“elbow”), from Old English elboga, elnboga (“elbow”), from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô (“elbow”), equivalent to ell + bow. Cognate with Scots elbuck (“elbow”), Saterland Frisian Älbooge (“elbow”), Dutch elleboog (“elbow”), Low German Ellebage (“elbow”), German Ellbogen, Ellenbogen (“elbow”), Danish and Norwegian albue (“elbow”), Faroese albogi, Icelandic olbogi, olnbogi (“elbow”), Swedish armbåge (“elbow”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elbbow,elboww,elbwo,ellbow,elobw,lebow
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of elbow - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “elbow”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-L-B-O-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛlbəʊ̯/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Elo” - see the side-by-side comparison. elbow vs Elo
- 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.