fraidy cat

noun

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

The verdict

“fraidy cat” 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
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Synonym of scaredy-cat (“coward”).

Key facts for fraidy cat
PropertyValue
Headwordfraidy cat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fraidy cat” sits in English frequency

fraidy cat falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for fraidy cat is 10 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Synonym of scaredy-cat (“coward”).".

fraidy cat doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is fraidy cat, spelled F-R-A-I-D-Y- -C-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of scaredy-cat (“coward”).

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

How do you spell "fraidy cat"?
"fraidy cat" is spelled F-R-A-I-D-Y- -C-A-T.
What does "fraidy cat" mean?
As a noun, "fraidy cat" means: Synonym of scaredy-cat (“coward”).
What language does "fraidy cat" come from?
"fraidy cat" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “fraidy cat”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-R-A-I-D-Y- -C-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list