holocaust

/ˈhɒl.ə(ʊ)ˌkɔːst/

//ˈhɒl.ə(ʊ)ˌkɔːst// noun

"holocaust" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“holocaust” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,434. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,434
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-holocaust · holocaust · English

holocaust · rank #8,434 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,434
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH homer

Nearest frequency peer: homer (+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 “holocaust”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “holocaust” 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
Key facts for holocaust
PropertyValue
Headwordholocaust
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɒl.ə(ʊ)ˌkɔːst/
Letters9
Frequency rank#8,434
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “holocaust”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).holocaustlands 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 “homer” (#8,435), “heir” (#8,432), “hon” (#8,436). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “holocaust” is #8,434. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around holocaust (IPA /ˈhɒl.ə(ʊ)ˌkɔːst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,434 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for holocaust, with forms such as "hholocaust", "hloocaust", and "holcoaust". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English holocaust (“burnt offering”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman holocauste, Old French holocauste, olocauste (modern French holocaust), from Late Latin holocaustum, from Ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστον (holókauston), the n… The correct English form is holocaust, spelled H-O-L-O-C-A-U-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.
  2. 2
    A complete or large offering or sacrifice.
  3. 3
    Complete destruction by fire; also, the thing so destroyed.
  4. 4
    Extensive destruction of a group of animals or (especially) people; a large-scale massacre or slaughter.
  5. 5
    Alternative letter-case form of Holocaust (“the systematic mass murder (democide or genocide) of Jews (and, more broadly, of disabled people, homosexuals, Romanis, Slavs, and others) perpetrated by Nazi Germany shortly before and during World War II”); hence, the state-sponsored mass murder of a particular group of people in society.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And the ſcribe ſayde vnto hym: well maſter⸝ thou haſt ſayde the trugthe⸝ thatt there ys one God⸝ and that there is none but he. And to love hym with all the herte⸝ and with all the mynde⸝ and with all the ſoule⸝ ãd with all the ſtrẽgthe. And to love a mans nehbour as hym ſilfe⸝ ys a greater thynge then all holocauſtꝭ [holocaustes] and ſacrifiſes.
  2. […] Iſaac carried on his back the wood for the ſacrifice; which being an holocauſt or burnt offering to be conſumed unto aſhes, we cannot well conceive the wood a burthen for a boy; but ſuch a one unto Iſaac, as that which it typified was unto Chriſt, that is the wood or croſſe whereon he ſuffered; […]

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English holocaust (“burnt offering”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman holocauste, Old French holocauste, olocauste (modern French holocaust), from Late Latin holocaustum, from Ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστον (holókauston), the neuter form of ὁλόκαυστος (holókaustos, “wholly burnt”), from ὅλος (hólos, “entire, whole”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“whole”)) + καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”) (from καίω (kaíō, “to burn, burn up”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂w-). The verb is derived from the noun. As regards verb sense 3 (“to subject (a group of people) to a holocaust”), compare the use of genocide as a verb.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hholocaust
  • hloocaust
  • holcoaust
  • hollocaust
  • holoacust
  • holocasut
  • holocausst
  • holocaustt
  • holocauts
  • holoccaust
  • holocuast
  • hoolcaust
  • ohlocaust

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of holocaust - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hholocaust1hloocaust2holcoaust2hollocaust1holoacust2holocasut2holocausst1holocaustt1
Edit distance from "holocaust"

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 "holocaust"?
"holocaust" is spelled H-O-L-O-C-A-U-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɒl.ə(ʊ)ˌkɔːst/.
What does "holocaust" mean?
As a noun, "holocaust" means: An offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.
What are common misspellings of "holocaust"?
Common misspellings include "hholocaust", "hloocaust", "holcoaust", "hollocaust", "holoacust". The correct spelling is "holocaust".
How do you pronounce "holocaust"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "holocaust" is /ˈhɒl.ə(ʊ)ˌkɔːst/. 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 "holocaust"?
The noun is derived from Middle English holocaust (“burnt offering”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman holocauste, Old French holocauste, olocauste (modern French holocaust), from Late Latin holocaustum, from Ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστον (holókaust... 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 "holocaust", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list