gobsmacked
/ˈɡɒb.smækt/
"gobsmacked" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gobsmacked” is uncommon English (frequency #51,139 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #51,139
- frequency rank, English
- 2,313
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Flabbergasted, astounded, speechless, overawed.
Corpus desk
Index EN-gobsmacked · gobsmacked · English
gobsmacked · rank #51,139 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #51,139
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,313
- PHOTO-FINISH gnocchi
Nearest frequency peer: gnocchi (-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 “gobsmacked”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Gennady
Gennady
48,866 corpus weight
- Georgiana
Georgiana
48,865 corpus weight
- Glennon
Glennon
48,864 corpus weight
- gnocchi
gnocchi
48,863 corpus weight
- gobsmacked
gobsmacked
48,862 corpus weight
- godliness
godliness
48,861 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “gobsmacked” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gobsmacked |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɡɒb.smækt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #51,139 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “gobsmacked” in English
Rare enough to double-check
gobsmacked is uncommon English at frequency #51,139 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɡɒb.smækt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Flabbergasted, astounded, speechless, overawed.".
gobsmacked has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: As if smacked (“hit”) in the gob (“mouth (Irish / Scottish gaelic)”). Attested since 1959, from Northern English dialect, particularly Liverpool, popularized via television. The correct English form is gobsmacked, spelled G-O-B-S-M-A-C-K-E-D.
Definition
- 1Flabbergasted, astounded, speechless, overawed.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gobsmacked appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
That wad mack im about yam sick, so ower Ilkla' moor bar-tat wish un best of luck at Ilkley Station, and when he landed back Martha wad be fare gob smacked at the yarns he wad tell 'er about Yorkshire clod-hoppers.
We were as appalled and stunned and confused and gobsmacked (punched on the mouth) as anyone else.
Etymology
As if smacked (“hit”) in the gob (“mouth (Irish / Scottish gaelic)”). Attested since 1959, from Northern English dialect, particularly Liverpool, popularized via television.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gobsmacked", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).