equilateral

adj

"equilateral" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“equilateral” is uncommon English (frequency #62,874 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,874
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having all the sides equal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-equilateral · equilateral · English

equilateral · rank #62,874 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,874
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH Escalante

Nearest frequency peer: Escalante (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “equilateral”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “equilateral” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for equilateral
PropertyValue
Headwordequilateral
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters11
Frequency rank#62,874
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “equilateral” in English

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).equilateralfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Escalante” (#62,875), “endear” (#62,872), “evanescence” (#62,876). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “equilateral” is #62,874. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

equilateral is uncommon English at frequency #62,874 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for equilateral, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From equi- + lateral. The correct English form is equilateral, spelled E-Q-U-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having all the sides equal.
  2. 2
    Having all the faces equal.
  3. 3
    Having the two sides equal, as a surface divisible by a longitudinal median line into two halves of the same form.
  4. 4
    Having all the convolutions of the shell in one plane, chiefly of foraminifers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Kissinger had wanted to keep an “equilateral” distance between the US, USSR and China. Under Carter, they became de facto partners.

Etymology

From equi- + lateral.

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

How do you spell "equilateral"?
"equilateral" is spelled E-Q-U-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L.
What does "equilateral" mean?
As an adjective, "equilateral" means: Having all the sides equal.
What is the origin of the word "equilateral"?
From equi- + lateral. 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 "equilateral", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list