hippodrome

/ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm/

//ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm// noun

"hippodrome" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hippodrome” is an uncommon English word, ranked #61,534 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#61,534
frequency rank, English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A horse racing course.

Key facts for hippodrome
PropertyValue
Headwordhippodrome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm/
Letters10
Frequency rank#61,534
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hippodrome” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hippodrome lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for hippodrome is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm/. Corpus data places it at rank #61,534 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.

hippodrome doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *HéHḱus Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos Proto-Hellenic *íkkʷos Ancient Greek ῐ̔́ππος (hĭ́ppos) Proto-Indo-European *drem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Hellenic *-os Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek δρόμος (drómos) Anci… The correct English form is hippodrome, spelled H-I-P-P-O-D-R-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A horse racing course.
  2. 2
    A fraudulent sporting contest with a predetermined winner.
  3. 3
    A circus with equestrian performances.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *HéHḱus Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos Proto-Hellenic *íkkʷos Ancient Greek ῐ̔́ππος (hĭ́ppos) Proto-Indo-European *drem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Hellenic *-os Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek δρόμος (drómos) Ancient Greek ῐ̔ππόδρομος (hĭppódromos)bor. Latin hippodromoslbor. French hippodromebor. English hippodrome Borrowed from French hippodrome, a learned borrowing from Latin hippodromos, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῐ̔ππόδρομος (hĭppódromos), from ῐ̔́ππος (hĭ́ppos, “horse”) + δρόμος (drómos, “street”). By surface analysis, hippo- + -drome.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hippodrome"?
"hippodrome" is spelled H-I-P-P-O-D-R-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm/.
What does "hippodrome" mean?
As a noun, "hippodrome" means: A horse racing course.
How do you pronounce "hippodrome"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hippodrome" is /ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm/. 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 "hippodrome"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *HéHḱus Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos Proto-Hellenic *íkkʷos Ancient Greek ῐ̔́ππος (hĭ́ppos) Proto-Indo-European *drem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Hellenic *-os Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek δρόμος (dr... 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.

Using “hippodrome”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-I-P-P-O-D-R-O-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm/ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list