markdown

noun

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

The verdict

“markdown” is uncommon English (frequency #59,530 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,530
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A reduction in price in order to stimulate sales.

Corpus desk

Index EN-markdown · markdown · English

markdown · rank #59,530 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,530
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mariko

Nearest frequency peer: Mariko (-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 “markdown”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for markdown
PropertyValue
Headwordmarkdown
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#59,530
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “markdown” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).markdownfalls 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: “Mariko” (#59,529), “marmot” (#59,531), “Marciano” (#59,528). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “markdown” is #59,530. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

markdown is uncommon English at frequency #59,530 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A reduction in price in order to stimulate sales.".

markdown has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. 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: Deverbal from mark down. The computing sense is a pun on markup (language). The correct English form is markdown, spelled M-A-R-K-D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A reduction in price in order to stimulate sales.

Etymology

Deverbal from mark down. The computing sense is a pun on markup (language).

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 "markdown"?
"markdown" is spelled M-A-R-K-D-O-W-N.
What does "markdown" mean?
As a noun, "markdown" means: A reduction in price in order to stimulate sales.
What is the origin of the word "markdown"?
Deverbal from mark down. The computing sense is a pun on markup (language). 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 "markdown", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list