gumbo

/ˈɡʌm.boʊ/

//ˈɡʌm.boʊ// noun

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

"gumbo" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gumbo” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,657. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,657
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of okra: the plant or its edible capsules.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gumbo · gumbo · English

gumbo · rank #41,657 · 7 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,657
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH GTR

Nearest frequency peer: GTR (-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 “gumbo”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “gumbo” 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).

gumbo vs Guo
40% similar
gumbo vs gums
60% similar
gumbo vs gump
60% similar

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

Key facts for gumbo
PropertyValue
Headwordgumbo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡʌm.boʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#41,657
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gumbo”

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).gumbolands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “GTR” (#41,656), “Gwynedd” (#41,658), “Hadrian” (#41,659). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gumbo” is #41,657. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around gumbo (IPA /ˈɡʌm.boʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,657 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for gumbo, with forms such as "ggumbo", "gmubo", and "gubmo". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Guo", "gums", "gump", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Louisiana French gombo, possibly via Louisiana Creole gombo, from Kimbundu ingombo, plural of kingombo (“okra”); compare Portuguese quingombó. The correct English form is gumbo, spelled G-U-M-B-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of okra: the plant or its edible capsules.
  2. 2
    A soup or stew popular in Louisiana, consisting of a strong stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener (often okra), and the "Holy Trinity" of celery, bell peppers, and onions.
  3. 3
    A fine silty soil that when wet becomes very thick and heavy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The team stuck fast in the black muck, and every effort to extricate them served only to imbed them more hopelessly in the sticky gumbo.
  2. There are no poorer roads in all the United States than the "gumbo" roads of the south—gumbo being the name give a certain kind of mud or clay that is particularly sticky, clings tenaciously, seems to have no bottom, and will not support any weight.

Etymology

Borrowed from Louisiana French gombo, possibly via Louisiana Creole gombo, from Kimbundu ingombo, plural of kingombo (“okra”); compare Portuguese quingombó.

This word in other languages

gombo(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggumbo
  • gmubo
  • gubmo
  • gumbbo
  • gummbo
  • gumob
  • ugmbo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ggumbo1gmubo2gubmo2gumbbo1gummbo1gumob2ugmbo2
Edit distance from "gumbo"

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 "gumbo"?
"gumbo" is spelled G-U-M-B-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡʌm.boʊ/.
What does "gumbo" mean?
As a noun, "gumbo" means: Synonym of okra: the plant or its edible capsules.
What words are commonly confused with "gumbo"?
"gumbo" is commonly confused with "Guo", "gums", "gump". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gumbo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gumbo" is /ˈɡʌm.boʊ/. 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 "gumbo"?
Borrowed from Louisiana French gombo, possibly via Louisiana Creole gombo, from Kimbundu ingombo, plural of kingombo (“okra”); compare Portuguese quingombó. 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 "gumbo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Gotti#41,651Gordy#41,650glyph#41,646HIPAA#41,672

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Gollum7 variantsHerrmann7 variantsfatwa7 variantsFAFSA7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list