hogweed

noun

"hogweed" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any coarse weedy herb.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hogweed · hogweed · English

hogweed · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" 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 hogweed
PropertyValue
Headwordhogweed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hogweed” in English

hogweedfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

hogweed is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hogweed, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hog + weed, so named because of its use as feed for pigs. The correct English form is hogweed, spelled H-O-G-W-E-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any coarse weedy herb.
  2. 2
    An umbelliferous plant, of genus Heracleum, most species of which are phototoxic.
  3. 3
    Certain plants from the genera Ambrosia, Erigeron, or Heracleum.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. “I will bewitch them with flea-bane, blister them with hog-weed,” he said, vainly looking for a suitable spell.
  2. I see the tall not-weeds with white flowers up close. Don’t touch, don’t touch those. Hogweed, it will burn.

Etymology

From hog + weed, so named because of its use as feed for pigs.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hogweed"?
"hogweed" is spelled H-O-G-W-E-E-D.
What does "hogweed" mean?
As a noun, "hogweed" means: Any coarse weedy herb.
What is the origin of the word "hogweed"?
From hog + weed, so named because of its use as feed for pigs. 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