longshot

noun

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

The verdict

“longshot” is uncommon English (frequency #54,314 among 16,425 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,314
frequency rank, English
16,425
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative spelling of long shot.

Key facts for longshot
PropertyValue
Headwordlongshot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#54,314
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “longshot” 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). longshot 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

longshot is uncommon English at frequency #54,314 among 16,425 “L” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative spelling of long shot.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for longshot in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From long + shot. The correct English form is longshot, spelled L-O-N-G-S-H-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of long shot.

Etymology

From long + shot.

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 "longshot"?
"longshot" is spelled L-O-N-G-S-H-O-T.
What does "longshot" mean?
As a noun, "longshot" means: Alternative spelling of long shot.
What is the origin of the word "longshot"?
From long + shot. 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 “longshot”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is L-O-N-G-S-H-O-T - 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list