hothead

noun

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

The verdict

“hothead” is an uncommon English word, ranked #75,971 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#75,971
frequency rank, English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who becomes angry easily or goes in search of arguments or fights.

Key facts for hothead
PropertyValue
Headwordhothead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,971
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hothead” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hothead lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for hothead is 7 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #75,971 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

hothead has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hot + head. Compare English hotbrain (“a hothead”); Middle English hot-heorte, hat-heorte (“anger”), Old English hātheort (“furious, angry, irascible, passionate, ardent”, literally “hot-heart”). The correct English form is hothead, spelled H-O-T-H-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who becomes angry easily or goes in search of arguments or fights.
  2. 2
    One who reacts quickly and without thinking carefully first.

Etymology

From hot + head. Compare English hotbrain (“a hothead”); Middle English hot-heorte, hat-heorte (“anger”), Old English hātheort (“furious, angry, irascible, passionate, ardent”, literally “hot-heart”).

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); 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 "hothead"?
"hothead" is spelled H-O-T-H-E-A-D.
What does "hothead" mean?
As a noun, "hothead" means: One who becomes angry easily or goes in search of arguments or fights.
What is the origin of the word "hothead"?
From hot + head. Compare English hotbrain (“a hothead”); Middle English hot-heorte, hat-heorte (“anger”), Old English hātheort (“furious, angry, irascible, passionate, ardent”, literally “hot-heart”). 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.

Using “hothead”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-O-T-H-E-A-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list