grapefruit
/ˈɡɹeɪpfɹuːt/
"grapefruit" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“grapefruit” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,283 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,283
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The tree of the species Citrus paradisi, a hybrid of Citrus maxima and sweet orange.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | grapefruit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡɹeɪpfɹuːt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #23,283 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “grapefruit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for grapefruit is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɡɹeɪpfɹuːt/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,283 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for grapefruit, with forms such as "garpefruit", "ggrapefruit", and "graepfruit". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Widely assumed to be a marketing term from grape + fruit, an allusion to the supposed grapelike clusters of fruit on the tree, early 19th c. Ciardi proposes another theory: one of the pomelo's botanical names is Citrus grandis, meaning "great citrus [fruit]… The correct English form is grapefruit, spelled G-R-A-P-E-F-R-U-I-T.
Definition
- 1The tree of the species Citrus paradisi, a hybrid of Citrus maxima and sweet orange.
- 2The large spherical tart fruit produced by this tree.
- 3Large breasts; by extension, a woman with large breasts.
Etymology
Widely assumed to be a marketing term from grape + fruit, an allusion to the supposed grapelike clusters of fruit on the tree, early 19th c. Ciardi proposes another theory: one of the pomelo's botanical names is Citrus grandis, meaning "great citrus [fruit]", due to the size of its fruit. A new pomelo variety might first have been called a "greatfruit" (see greatfruit), and through the process of assimilation, the word came to be pronounced "grapefruit".
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: garpefruit,ggrapefruit,graepfruit,grapeffruit,grapefriut,grapefrruit,grapefruitt,grapefruti,grapefurit,graperfuit,grapferuit,grappefruit,grpaefruit,grrapefruit,rgapefruit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grapefruit - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "grapefruit"?
What does "grapefruit" mean?
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Using “grapefruit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-A-P-E-F-R-U-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡɹeɪpfɹuːt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.