holdfast
"holdfast" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“holdfast” is uncommon English (frequency #81,407 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #81,407
- frequency rank, English
- 23,837
- “H” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something to or by which an object can be securely fastened.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | holdfast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #81,407 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “holdfast” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
holdfast is uncommon English at frequency #81,407 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for holdfast, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Deverbal from hold fast. The correct English form is holdfast, spelled H-O-L-D-F-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1Something to or by which an object can be securely fastened.
- 2A root-like structure that anchors aquatic sessile organisms, such as seaweed, other sessile algae, stalked crinoids, benthic cnidarians, and sponges, to the substrate.
- 3Actinomycosis.
- 4The aspect of a character that experiences destructive temptation.
Etymology
Deverbal from hold fast.
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
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Using “holdfast”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-O-L-D-F-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this 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.