knick-knack
/ˈnɪkˌnæk/
"knick-knack" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“knick-knack” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small ornament or other object of minor value.
Corpus desk
Index EN-knick-knack · knick-knack · English
knick-knack · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "K" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | knick-knack |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈnɪkˌnæk/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “knick-knack” in English
Rare enough to double-check
knick-knack is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnɪkˌnæk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A small ornament or other object of minor value.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for knick-knack, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Reduplication of knack. The correct English form is knick-knack, spelled K-N-I-C-K---K-N-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1A small ornament or other object of minor value.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how knick-knack appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Our Cutler, who had now a great Stock of things of his Handy-work, gave them some little Knick Knacks, as Plates of Silver and of Iron, cut Diamond Fashion, and cut into Hearts and into Rings, and they were mightily pleased.
But there was no hitch in the conversation, nevertheless; for one gentleman, who travelled in the perfumery line, exhibited an interesting nick-nack, in the way of a remarkable cake of shaving soap, which he had lately met with in Germany […]
Etymology
Reduplication of knack.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.