junket

/ˈd͡ʒʌŋkɪt/

//ˈd͡ʒʌŋkɪt// noun

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

"junket" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“junket” is uncommon English (frequency #63,727 among 796 “J” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,727
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A basket.

Corpus desk

Index EN-junket · junket · English

junket · rank #63,727 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,727
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH joyless

Nearest frequency peer: joyless (-2 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 “junket”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for junket
PropertyValue
Headwordjunket
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈd͡ʒʌŋkɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#63,727
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “junket” 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).junketfalls 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: “joyless” (#63,725), “journo” (#63,724), “kajal” (#63,731). Among 796 “J” headwords, “junket” is #63,727. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

junket is uncommon English at frequency #63,727 among 796 “J” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈd͡ʒʌŋkɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for junket, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English jonket (“basket made of rushes”), from Medieval Latin iuncta, possibly from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”) and therefore a possible doublet of jonquil. Meaning shifted to “feast or banquet” by 1520s, probably via the notion of a picnic bask… The correct English form is junket, spelled J-U-N-K-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A basket.
  2. 2
    A type of cream cheese, originally made in a rush basket; later, a food made of sweetened curds.
  3. 3
    A delicacy.
  4. 4
    A feast or banquet.
  5. 5
    A pleasure trip; a journey made for feasting or enjoyment, now especially a trip made ostensibly for business but which entails merrymaking or entertainment.
  6. 6
    Ellipsis of press junket.
  7. 7
    A gaming room for which the capacity and limits change daily, often rented out to private vendors who run tour groups through them and give a portion of the proceeds to the main casino.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I love your meads, and I love your flowers, / And I love your junkets mainly […].
  2. The Sunday ended in gloom, which even junket for supper in the blue Dresden bowl could hardly lighten at all.

Etymology

From Middle English jonket (“basket made of rushes”), from Medieval Latin iuncta, possibly from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”) and therefore a possible doublet of jonquil. Meaning shifted to “feast or banquet” by 1520s, probably via the notion of a picnic basket. This in turn led to the sense of “pleasure trip” (1814), and then to specifically to “trip made ostensibly for business but which entails merrymaking or entertainment” by 1886 in American English.

This word in other languages

francachela(Español)caillé(Français)Quark(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 "junket"?
"junket" is spelled J-U-N-K-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒʌŋkɪt/.
What does "junket" mean?
As a noun, "junket" means: A basket.
How do you pronounce "junket"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "junket" is /ˈd͡ʒʌŋkɪt/. 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 "junket"?
From Middle English jonket (“basket made of rushes”), from Medieval Latin iuncta, possibly from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”) and therefore a possible doublet of jonquil. Meaning shifted to “feast or banquet” by 1520s, probably via the notion of a p... 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 "junket", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

journo#63,724Jonesy#63,722Jenkin#63,720instar#63,705

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list