hoodlum

/ˈhuːdləm/

//ˈhuːdləm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hoodlum” is uncommon English (frequency #67,510 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,510
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A gangster; a hired thug.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hoodlum · hoodlum · English

hoodlum · rank #67,510 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,510
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hoody

Nearest frequency peer: hoody (+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 “hoodlum”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hoodlum
PropertyValue
Headwordhoodlum
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhuːdləm/
Letters7
Frequency rank#67,510
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hoodlum” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hoodlumfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “hoody” (#67,511), “Hoffenheim” (#67,506), “hydrogel” (#67,514). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hoodlum” is #67,510. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hoodlum is uncommon English at frequency #67,510 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhuːdləm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

hoodlum doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in a December 1866 Daily Alta California article, which mentions "the 'Hoodlum Gang' of juvenile thieves". Several possible origins have been proposed. It may derive from a Germanic word like Swabian hudelum (“disorderly”) or Bavarian Haderlu… The correct English form is hoodlum, spelled H-O-O-D-L-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A gangster; a hired thug.
  2. 2
    A rough or violent youth.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There is no question the MS-13 gang must be stopped. It is a vile organization of hoodlums with no regard for life.
  2. In Sam Mendes's excellent gangster movie Road to Perdition (2002), he tested the boundaries further playing a hitman – but while we know he's a killer, we never really see him go full-pelt hoodlum.

Etymology

First attested in a December 1866 Daily Alta California article, which mentions "the 'Hoodlum Gang' of juvenile thieves". Several possible origins have been proposed. It may derive from a Germanic word like Swabian hudelum (“disorderly”) or Bavarian Haderlump (“ragamuffin”). Herbert Asbury's book The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld (1933, A. A. Knopf, New York) says the word originated in San Francisco from a particular street gang's call to unemployed Irishmen to "huddle 'em" (to beat up Chinese migrants), after which San Francisco newspapers took to calling street gangs "hoodlums".

This word in other languages

matón(Español)bandit(Français)Schläger(Deutsch)marginal(Português)

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 "hoodlum"?
"hoodlum" is spelled H-O-O-D-L-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhuːdləm/.
What does "hoodlum" mean?
As a noun, "hoodlum" means: A gangster; a hired thug.
How do you pronounce "hoodlum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hoodlum" is /ˈhuːdləm/. 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 "hoodlum"?
First attested in a December 1866 Daily Alta California article, which mentions "the 'Hoodlum Gang' of juvenile thieves". Several possible origins have been proposed. It may derive from a Germanic word like Swabian hudelum (“disorderly”) or Bavari... 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 "hoodlum", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Hegarty#67,500hearken#67,499haploid#67,496Jacinta#67,546

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list