hacksaw
"hacksaw" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hacksaw” is uncommon English (frequency #50,549 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #50,549
- frequency rank, English
- 23,837
- “H” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A saw, with a blade that is put under tension, for cutting metal
Corpus desk
Index EN-hacksaw · hacksaw · English
hacksaw · rank #50,549 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #50,549
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 23,837
- PHOTO-FINISH gyrus
Nearest frequency peer: gyrus (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “hacksaw”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Grosjean
Grosjean
49,456 corpus weight
- grouper
grouper
49,455 corpus weight
- Gustavus
Gustavus
49,454 corpus weight
- gyrus
gyrus
49,453 corpus weight
- hacksaw
hacksaw
49,452 corpus weight
- halide
halide
49,449 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “hacksaw” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hacksaw |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #50,549 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hacksaw” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
hacksaw is uncommon English at frequency #50,549 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A saw, with a blade that is put under tension, for cutting metal".
Zero misspellings are on record for hacksaw in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From hack + saw. Attested since 1867. The correct English form is hacksaw, spelled H-A-C-K-S-A-W.
Definition
- 1A saw, with a blade that is put under tension, for cutting metal
Etymology
From hack + saw. Attested since 1867.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "hacksaw"?
What does "hacksaw" mean?
What is the origin of the word "hacksaw"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hacksaw", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
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.