macaw
/məˈkɔː/
"macaw" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“macaw” is uncommon English (frequency #64,512 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #64,512
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various parrots of the genera Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Orthopsittaca, Primolius and Diopsittaca of Central and South America, including the largest parrots and characterized by long ...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | macaw |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /məˈkɔː/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #64,512 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “macaw” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
macaw is uncommon English at frequency #64,512 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /məˈkɔː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of various parrots of the genera Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Orthopsittaca, Primolius and Diopsittaca of Central and South America, including the largest parrots and characterized by long ...".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for macaw, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable 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 Portuguese macau, of unknown origin. English sources point to Nheengatu makawana, which is only attested from the 20th century onwards. The correct English form is macaw, spelled M-A-C-A-W.
Definition
- 1Any of various parrots of the genera Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Orthopsittaca, Primolius and Diopsittaca of Central and South America, including the largest parrots and characterized by long sabre-shaped tails, curved powerful bills, and usually brilliant plumage.
Etymology
From Portuguese macau, of unknown origin. English sources point to Nheengatu makawana, which is only attested from the 20th century onwards.
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); 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
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Using “macaw”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-C-A-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /məˈkɔː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.