honeydew

/ˈhʌnɪdjuː/

//ˈhʌnɪdjuː// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"honeydew" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“honeydew” is uncommon English (frequency #59,450 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,450
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves and other plant parts by insects (especially aphids and scale insects) feeding on plant sap, or by fungi.

Corpus desk

Index EN-honeydew · honeydew · English

honeydew · rank #59,450 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,450
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Holyhead

Nearest frequency peer: Holyhead (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “honeydew”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “honeydew” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for honeydew
PropertyValue
Headwordhoneydew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhʌnɪdjuː/
Letters8
Frequency rank#59,450
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “honeydew” in English

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).honeydewfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Holyhead” (#59,449), “honeypot” (#59,451), “holdover” (#59,448). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “honeydew” is #59,450. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

honeydew is uncommon English at frequency #59,450 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhʌnɪdjuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for honeydew in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from honey + dew, originally believed to be a form of dew that fell from the sky like rain onto plants (see sense 1). The adjective is derived from the noun. The correct English form is honeydew, spelled H-O-N-E-Y-D-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves and other plant parts by insects (especially aphids and scale insects) feeding on plant sap, or by fungi.
  2. 2
    A sweet liquid substance resembling the substance mentioned in sense 1, such as honey, nectar, or manna in the Bible.
  3. 3
    A blackish mould (often called sooty mould) produced by fungi of the order Dothideales, feeding on the substance mentioned in sense 1.
  4. 4
    In full honeydew tobacco: a fine sort of tobacco moistened with a sweet substance (originally molasses).
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of honeydew melon (“a melon from the Cucumis melo Inodorus cultivar group, with sweet, light green or white flesh and a smooth greenish-white or yellow rind”).
  6. 6
    Ellipsis of honeydew melon (“a melon from the Cucumis melo Inodorus cultivar group, with sweet, light green or white flesh and a smooth greenish-white or yellow rind”).
  7. 7
    Something that is enjoyable or pleasant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [T]here reſteth on the leaves of this tree a kinde of red thicke dew in the hotteſt time of Summer more then on any other tree round about it, which will be rather dry then bedewed at all, which honey dew being taken doth ſlake the thirſt wonderfully: […]
  2. [F]reſh teares / Stood on her cheeks, as doth the honie devv, / Vpon a gathred Lillie almoſt vvithered.

Etymology

The noun is derived from honey + dew, originally believed to be a form of dew that fell from the sky like rain onto plants (see sense 1). The adjective is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

ligamaza(Español)miellat(Français)Honigtau(Deutsch)

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 "honeydew"?
"honeydew" is spelled H-O-N-E-Y-D-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhʌnɪdjuː/.
What does "honeydew" mean?
As a noun, "honeydew" means: A sweet, sticky substance deposited on leaves and other plant parts by insects (especially aphids and scale insects) feeding on plant sap, or by fungi.
How do you pronounce "honeydew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "honeydew" is /ˈhʌnɪdjuː/. 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 "honeydew"?
The noun is derived from honey + dew, originally believed to be a form of dew that fell from the sky like rain onto plants (see sense 1). The adjective is derived from the noun. 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 "honeydew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Holyhead#59,449honeypot#59,451holdover#59,448hustings#59,457

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list