gallows
/ˈɡæləʊz/
"gallows" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gallows” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,095 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #26,095
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A wooden framework on which persons are executed by hanging.
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 | gallows |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡæləʊz/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #26,095 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gallows” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gallows is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɡæləʊz/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,095 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for gallows, with forms such as "agllows", "gallosw", and "gallowss". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "glows", "Gallo", "gallon", 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 galwes, galewes, plural of galwe, galowe, from Old English galga, gealga, from Proto-West Germanic *galgō, from Proto-Germanic *galgô, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰalgʰ-, *ǵʰalg- (“long switch, rod, shaft, pole, perch”). The plural constr… The correct English form is gallows, spelled G-A-L-L-O-W-S.
Definition
- 1A wooden framework on which persons are executed by hanging.
- 2A wretch who deserves to be hanged.
- 3The rest for the tympan when raised.
- 4Suspenders; braces.
- 5Any contrivance with posts and crossbeam for suspending objects.
- 6The main frame of a beam engine.
Etymology
From Middle English galwes, galewes, plural of galwe, galowe, from Old English galga, gealga, from Proto-West Germanic *galgō, from Proto-Germanic *galgô, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰalgʰ-, *ǵʰalg- (“long switch, rod, shaft, pole, perch”). The plural construction probably refers to the vertical and horizontal beams. Compare West Frisian galge, Dutch galg, German Galgen, Danish galge, Icelandic gálgi. For the pronunciation /ˈɡæləs/, compare bellows, bodice.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: agllows,gallosw,gallowss,gallowws,gallwos,galolws,galows,ggallows,glalows
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gallows - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “gallows”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-A-L-L-O-W-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡæləʊz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “glows” - see the side-by-side comparison. gallows vs glows
- 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.