kielbasa

/kilˈbɑsə/

//kilˈbɑsə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“kielbasa” is uncommon English (frequency #96,126 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#96,126
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A spicy, smoked sausage of a particular kind from Eastern Europe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kielbasa · kielbasa · English

kielbasa · rank #96,126 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #96,126
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH kiang

Nearest frequency peer: kiang (-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 “kielbasa”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kielbasa
PropertyValue
Headwordkielbasa
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kilˈbɑsə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#96,126
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kielbasa” 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).kielbasafalls 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: “kiang” (#96,125), “Kinnaird” (#96,128), “khor” (#96,122). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kielbasa” is #96,126. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kielbasa is uncommon English at frequency #96,126 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kilˈbɑsə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for kielbasa, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Polish kiełbasa (“sausage”), from Proto-Slavic *kъlbasa, which may derive from Proto-Turkic for "grilled cutlet," literally "pressed on ashes," from *kül (“ash”) + *bas (“to press”) (modern Turkish basmak). See the Ukrainian cognate ковбаса́ (… The correct English form is kielbasa, spelled K-I-E-L-B-A-S-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A spicy, smoked sausage of a particular kind from Eastern Europe.
  2. 2
    Penis.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Congressmen gleefully wolfed down every imaginable version of the hot dog – smoked kielbasas, jumbo grillers, Big & Juicy's, kosher dogs and spiced dogs […]
  2. Heritage Foods now offers linguiça from the sausage maker the Mayor, in Richmond, Va. The signature Portuguese sausage harbors the paprika spice of chorizo but with the fire dampened, and a finer texture, but it brings on the garlic like kielbasa.

Etymology

Borrowed from Polish kiełbasa (“sausage”), from Proto-Slavic *kъlbasa, which may derive from Proto-Turkic for "grilled cutlet," literally "pressed on ashes," from *kül (“ash”) + *bas (“to press”) (modern Turkish basmak). See the Ukrainian cognate ковбаса́ (kovbasá, “sausage”), whence kubasa, for more information.

This word in other languages

kielbasa(Français)

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 "kielbasa"?
"kielbasa" is spelled K-I-E-L-B-A-S-A. The IPA pronunciation is /kilˈbɑsə/.
What does "kielbasa" mean?
As a noun, "kielbasa" means: A spicy, smoked sausage of a particular kind from Eastern Europe.
How do you pronounce "kielbasa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kielbasa" is /kilˈbɑsə/. 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 "kielbasa"?
Borrowed from Polish kiełbasa (“sausage”), from Proto-Slavic *kъlbasa, which may derive from Proto-Turkic for "grilled cutlet," literally "pressed on ashes," from *kül (“ash”) + *bas (“to press”) (modern Turkish basmak). See the Ukrainian cognate ... 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 "kielbasa", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kinnaird#96,128jailbird#96,097Lebesgue#96,160Lefferts#96,163

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list