homonym

/ˈhɒmənɪm/

//ˈhɒmənɪm// noun

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

The verdict

“homonym” 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) - A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word (but not necessarily both).

Corpus desk

Index EN-homonym · homonym · English

homonym · 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 homonym
PropertyValue
Headwordhomonym
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɒmənɪm/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “homonym” in English

homonymsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

homonym is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɒmənɪm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for homonym in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin homōnymum, from Ancient Greek ὁμώνυμον (homṓnumon), nominalized from the neuter of ὁμώνῠμος (homṓnŭmos, “homonymous”). By surface analysis, hom- + -onym. The correct English form is homonym, spelled H-O-M-O-N-Y-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word (but not necessarily both).
  2. 2
    A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word (but not necessarily both).

Etymology

From Latin homōnymum, from Ancient Greek ὁμώνυμον (homṓnumon), nominalized from the neuter of ὁμώνῠμος (homṓnŭmos, “homonymous”). By surface analysis, hom- + -onym.

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 "homonym"?
"homonym" is spelled H-O-M-O-N-Y-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɒmənɪm/.
What does "homonym" mean?
As a noun, "homonym" means: A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word (but not necessarily both).
How do you pronounce "homonym"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "homonym" is /ˈhɒmənɪm/. 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 "homonym"?
From Latin homōnymum, from Ancient Greek ὁμώνυμον (homṓnumon), nominalized from the neuter of ὁμώνῠμος (homṓnŭmos, “homonymous”). By surface analysis, hom- + -onym. 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