gorilla

/ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/

//ɡəˈɹɪl.ə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gorilla" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gorilla” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,613. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,613
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ape of the genus Gorilla; endemic to the forests of Central Africa and typified by superlative physical size and strength in relation to other primates.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gorilla · gorilla · English

gorilla · rank #12,613 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,613
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH goodman

Nearest frequency peer: goodman (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “gorilla”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “gorilla” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

gorilla vs grill
71% similar
gorilla vs grille
71% similar
gorilla vs grills
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for gorilla
PropertyValue
Headwordgorilla
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,613
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gorilla”

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).gorillalands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “goodman” (#12,612), “Guatemala” (#12,614), “gluten” (#12,611). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gorilla” is #12,613. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around gorilla (IPA /ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,613 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for gorilla, with forms such as "ggorilla", "goirlla", and "gorila". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "grill", "grille", "grills", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women)”), described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to the area that later became Sierra Leone; the Greek word is likely from Punic, and ultimately from… The correct English form is gorilla, spelled G-O-R-I-L-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ape of the genus Gorilla; endemic to the forests of Central Africa and typified by superlative physical size and strength in relation to other primates.
  2. 2
    A big and brutish man or a thug; a goon or ruffian.
  3. 3
    A powerful person or organization; a heavyweight or behemoth.
  4. 4
    1000 pounds sterling or dollar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In three of these twenty gorillæ 14 ribs are present, and the additional rib in each of them is below. […] The conclusion that the usual place of commencement of the dorsal type in the gorilla is between the 12th and 13th dorsal vertebræ is founded on notes taken of this character in 13 of these gorillæ.
  2. “They are wicked people—neither white like you nor black like me, but covered with hair as is Bolgani, the gorilla. Yes, they are very bad people indeed, and Chowambi was glad to get out of their country.”

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women)”), described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to the area that later became Sierra Leone; the Greek word is likely from Punic, and ultimately from an African language.

This word in other languages

gorila(Español)gorille(Français)Gorilla(Deutsch)gorila(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggorilla
  • goirlla
  • gorila
  • gorilal
  • gorlila
  • gorrilla
  • groilla
  • ogrilla

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gorilla - 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.

ggorilla1goirlla2gorila1gorilal2gorlila2gorrilla1groilla2ogrilla2
Edit distance from "gorilla"

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 "gorilla"?
"gorilla" is spelled G-O-R-I-L-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/.
What does "gorilla" mean?
As a noun, "gorilla" means: An ape of the genus Gorilla; endemic to the forests of Central Africa and typified by superlative physical size and strength in relation to other primates.
What words are commonly confused with "gorilla"?
"gorilla" is commonly confused with "grill", "grille", "grills". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gorilla"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gorilla" is /ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/. 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 "gorilla"?
From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women)”), described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to the area that later became Sierra Leone; the Greek word is likely from Punic, and ultim... 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 "gorilla", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

goodman#12,612Hamburg#12,615furnace#12,604fertile#12,597

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

humane8 variantsleased8 variantsmantle8 variantsottoman8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list