hummingbird

/ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd/

//ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd// noun

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

"hummingbird" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hummingbird” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,452. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,452
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae that have the ability to hover.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hummingbird · hummingbird · English

hummingbird · rank #30,452 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,452
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hospitable

Nearest frequency peer: hospitable (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hummingbird”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hummingbird” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hummingbird
PropertyValue
Headwordhummingbird
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd/
Letters11
Frequency rank#30,452
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hummingbird”

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).hummingbirdlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “hospitable” (#30,451), “ight” (#30,453), “impactful” (#30,454). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hummingbird” is #30,452. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around hummingbird (IPA /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,452 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae that have the ability to hover.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for hummingbird, with forms such as "hhummingbird", "hmumingbird", and "humimngbird". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From humming (noun) + bird, in reference to the humming sound made by the rapidly moving wings. The correct English form is hummingbird, spelled H-U-M-M-I-N-G-B-I-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae that have the ability to hover.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Soon I hear the low all-pervading hum of an approaching hummingbird circling above the rock, …
  2. Beyond the veranda was a small cleared garden, bounded with cactus hedges and adorned with clumps of flowering shrubs, round which the great blue butterflies and the tiny humming-birds fluttered and darted in crescents of sparkling light.

Etymology

From humming (noun) + bird, in reference to the humming sound made by the rapidly moving wings.

Synonyms

hummerhummingbird

This word in other languages

colibrí(Español)colibri(Français)Kolibri(Deutsch)beija-flor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhummingbird
  • hmumingbird
  • humimngbird
  • humingbird
  • hummignbird
  • humminbgird
  • hummingbbird
  • hummingbidr
  • hummingbirdd
  • hummingbirrd
  • hummingbrid
  • humminggbird
  • hummingibrd
  • humminngbird
  • hummnigbird
  • uhmmingbird

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hummingbird - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hhummingbird1hmumingbird2humimngbird2humingbird1hummignbird2humminbgird2hummingbbird1hummingbidr2
Edit distance from "hummingbird"

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 "hummingbird"?
"hummingbird" is spelled H-U-M-M-I-N-G-B-I-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd/.
What does "hummingbird" mean?
As a noun, "hummingbird" means: Any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae that have the ability to hover.
What are common misspellings of "hummingbird"?
Common misspellings include "hhummingbird", "hmumingbird", "humimngbird", "humingbird", "hummignbird". The correct spelling is "hummingbird".
How do you pronounce "hummingbird"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hummingbird" is /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɝd/. 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 "hummingbird"?
From humming (noun) + bird, in reference to the humming sound made by the rapidly moving wings. 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 "hummingbird", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inescapable#30,459fantastical#30,414mesmerizing#30,500obstructive#30,515

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

hospitable16 variantsfracturing16 variantsexpendable16 variantscommunicator16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list