ferryboat

/ˈfɛɹiˌboʊt/

//ˈfɛɹiˌboʊt// noun

"ferryboat" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ferryboat” is uncommon English (frequency #92,608 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,608
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A boat used to ferry passengers, vehicles, or goods across open water, especially one that runs to a regular schedule

Corpus desk

Index EN-ferryboat · ferryboat · English

ferryboat · rank #92,608 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,608
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH FFB

Nearest frequency peer: FFB (+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 “ferryboat”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ferryboat
PropertyValue
Headwordferryboat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɛɹiˌboʊt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#92,608
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ferryboat” 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).ferryboatfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “FFB” (#92,609), “Finnerty” (#92,611), “flambeau” (#92,612). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “ferryboat” is #92,608. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ferryboat is uncommon English at frequency #92,608 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɛɹiˌboʊt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A boat used to ferry passengers, vehicles, or goods across open water, especially one that runs to a regular schedule".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for ferryboat, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From ferry + boat. The correct English form is ferryboat, spelled F-E-R-R-Y-B-O-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A boat used to ferry passengers, vehicles, or goods across open water, especially one that runs to a regular schedule

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He insists that it is practically undisputed that, when the ferryboat crossed the bow of the tug to make her slip, she crossed at a distance of at least 300 feet away
  2. The ferryboat "Argentina" rides toward Golden Gate, her ocean-going prow slicing the waves.

Etymology

From ferry + boat.

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 "ferryboat"?
"ferryboat" is spelled F-E-R-R-Y-B-O-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛɹiˌboʊt/.
What does "ferryboat" mean?
As a noun, "ferryboat" means: A boat used to ferry passengers, vehicles, or goods across open water, especially one that runs to a regular schedule
How do you pronounce "ferryboat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ferryboat" is /ˈfɛɹiˌboʊt/. 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 "ferryboat"?
From ferry + boat. 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 "ferryboat", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list