hot dog
/ˈhɒt.dɒɡ/
"hot-dog" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hot dog” 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 sausage, typically a frankfurter.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hot-dog · hot dog · English
hot dog · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hot dog |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhɒt.dɒɡ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hot dog” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hot dog is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɒt.dɒɡ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for hot dog, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From hot + dog, in reference to the supposed source of the meat, both in the senses of the food item (noun sense 1, noun sense 2) and of a show-off (noun sense 3). First attested in 1884 in the Evansville (Indiana) Daily Courier. The correct English form is hot dog, spelled H-O-T- -D-O-G.
Definition
- 1A sausage, typically a frankfurter.
- 2A food item (dish) consisting of a frankfurter or wiener and (usually) a hot dog bun, with toppings such as ketchup, mustard, relish, sauerkraut, onions, cheese, etc.
- 3A show-off or daredevil, especially in such sports as surfing, skateboarding, or skiing.
- 4A battered, deep-fried sausage or saveloy on a stick; a corn dog.
- 5Describing the shape of a rectangular piece of paper folded in half so that it forms a long rectangle.
- 6The penis.
- 7A sexually suggestive physical gesture involving movement of the hips.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hot dog appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Don't forget to buy some hot dogs to grill and some buns to put them on.
Hot dogs and beans are a traditional favorite.
Etymology
From hot + dog, in reference to the supposed source of the meat, both in the senses of the food item (noun sense 1, noun sense 2) and of a show-off (noun sense 3). First attested in 1884 in the Evansville (Indiana) Daily Courier.
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.