grosbeak

/ˈɡɹoʊz.biːk/

//ˈɡɹoʊz.biːk// noun

"grosbeak" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“grosbeak” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of several finches and cardinals that have a large, powerful bill

Corpus desk

Index EN-grosbeak · grosbeak · English

grosbeak · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for grosbeak
PropertyValue
Headwordgrosbeak
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡɹoʊz.biːk/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “grosbeak” in English

grosbeaksits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

grosbeak is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡɹoʊz.biːk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of several finches and cardinals that have a large, powerful bill".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for grosbeak, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: A partial calque of French gros-bec, gros (“big”) + bec (“beak”). The correct English form is grosbeak, spelled G-R-O-S-B-E-A-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of several finches and cardinals that have a large, powerful bill

Etymology

A partial calque of French gros-bec, gros (“big”) + bec (“beak”).

Synonyms

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 "grosbeak"?
"grosbeak" is spelled G-R-O-S-B-E-A-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɹoʊz.biːk/.
What does "grosbeak" mean?
As a noun, "grosbeak" means: Any of several finches and cardinals that have a large, powerful bill
How do you pronounce "grosbeak"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grosbeak" is /ˈɡɹoʊz.biːk/. 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 "grosbeak"?
A partial calque of French gros-bec, gros (“big”) + bec (“beak”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list