marimba
/məˈɹɪm.bə/
"marimba" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“marimba” is uncommon English (frequency #67,624 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,624
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A percussion instrument with African origins, similar to a xylophone with resonators, but much lower in range and darker in timbre.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | marimba |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /məˈɹɪm.bə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #67,624 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “marimba” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
marimba is uncommon English at frequency #67,624 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /məˈɹɪm.bə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A percussion instrument with African origins, similar to a xylophone with resonators, but much lower in range and darker in timbre.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for marimba, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Portuguese marimba, via a Bantu source, perhaps Kimbundu marimba (“xylophone”). The correct English form is marimba, spelled M-A-R-I-M-B-A.
Definition
- 1A percussion instrument with African origins, similar to a xylophone with resonators, but much lower in range and darker in timbre.
Etymology
From Portuguese marimba, via a Bantu source, perhaps Kimbundu marimba (“xylophone”).
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
How do you spell "marimba"?
What does "marimba" mean?
How do you pronounce "marimba"?
What is the origin of the word "marimba"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “marimba”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-R-I-M-B-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /məˈɹɪm.bə/ (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.