ironwood

noun

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

"ironwood" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ironwood” is uncommon English (frequency #56,204 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,204
frequency rank, English
17,902
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.

Key facts for ironwood
PropertyValue
Headwordironwood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#56,204
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ironwood” 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). ironwood lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

ironwood is uncommon English at frequency #56,204 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 33 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ironwood, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From iron + wood, because of its toughness. The correct English form is ironwood, spelled I-R-O-N-W-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  2. 2
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  3. 3
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  4. 4
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  5. 5
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  6. 6
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  7. 7
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  8. 8
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  9. 9
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  10. 10
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  11. 11
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  12. 12
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  13. 13
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  14. 14
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  15. 15
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  16. 16
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  17. 17
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  18. 18
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  19. 19
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  20. 20
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  21. 21
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  22. 22
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  23. 23
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  24. 24
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  25. 25
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  26. 26
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  27. 27
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  28. 28
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  29. 29
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  30. 30
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  31. 31
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  32. 32
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
  33. 33
    Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.

Etymology

From iron + wood, because of its toughness.

This word in other languages

bois de fer(Français)Eisenholz(Deutsch)

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 "ironwood"?
"ironwood" is spelled I-R-O-N-W-O-O-D.
What does "ironwood" mean?
As a noun, "ironwood" means: Any of numerous tree species known locally for having a particularly solid wood, or the wood of such species itself.
What is the origin of the word "ironwood"?
From iron + wood, because of its toughness. 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 “ironwood”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is I-R-O-N-W-O-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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