hullabaloo

/ˌhʌləbəˈluː/

//ˌhʌləbəˈluː// noun

"hullabaloo" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hullabaloo” is uncommon English (frequency #68,298 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,298
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A clamour, a commotion; a fuss or uproar.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hullabaloo · hullabaloo · English

hullabaloo · rank #68,298 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,298
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Howson

Nearest frequency peer: Howson (-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 “hullabaloo”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hullabaloo
PropertyValue
Headwordhullabaloo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌhʌləbəˈluː/
Letters10
Frequency rank#68,298
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hullabaloo” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Howson” (#68,297), “hulled” (#68,299), “horticulturist” (#68,296). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hullabaloo” is #68,298. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hullabaloo is uncommon English at frequency #68,298 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhʌləbəˈluː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A clamour, a commotion; a fuss or uproar.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for hullabaloo in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly a rhyming reduplication of halloo (used as a greeting or to catch attention; used in hunting to urge on pursuers), hilloa, hullo (variants of “hello”), and similar words. The correct English form is hullabaloo, spelled H-U-L-L-A-B-A-L-O-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A clamour, a commotion; a fuss or uproar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They made such a hullabaloo about the change that the authorities were forced to change it back.
  2. […]The truth of all this hullaballoo was that Rigby had a sly pension which, by an inevitable association of ideas, he always connected with the maintenance of an Aristocracy.

Etymology

Possibly a rhyming reduplication of halloo (used as a greeting or to catch attention; used in hunting to urge on pursuers), hilloa, hullo (variants of “hello”), and similar words.

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 "hullabaloo"?
"hullabaloo" is spelled H-U-L-L-A-B-A-L-O-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌhʌləbəˈluː/.
What does "hullabaloo" mean?
As a noun, "hullabaloo" means: A clamour, a commotion; a fuss or uproar.
How do you pronounce "hullabaloo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hullabaloo" is /ˌhʌləbəˈluː/. 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 "hullabaloo"?
Possibly a rhyming reduplication of halloo (used as a greeting or to catch attention; used in hunting to urge on pursuers), hilloa, hullo (variants of “hello”), and similar words. 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 "hullabaloo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list