matchstick
/ˈmætʃstɪk/
"matchstick" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“matchstick” is uncommon English (frequency #76,110 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #76,110
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small, slender piece of wood or cardboard serving as a component of a match.
Corpus desk
Index EN-matchstick · matchstick · English
matchstick · rank #76,110 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #76,110
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH McClung
Nearest frequency peer: McClung (+2 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 “matchstick”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- marginalisa…
marginalisation
23,898 corpus weight
- marionettes
marionettes
23,897 corpus weight
- matchstick
matchstick
23,891 corpus weight
- McClung
McClung
23,889 corpus weight
- McEntire
McEntire
23,888 corpus weight
- meese
meese
23,884 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “matchstick” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | matchstick |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmætʃstɪk/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #76,110 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “matchstick” in English
Rare enough to double-check
matchstick is uncommon English at frequency #76,110 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmætʃstɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for matchstick, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From match + stick. The correct English form is matchstick, spelled M-A-T-C-H-S-T-I-C-K.
Definition
- 1A small, slender piece of wood or cardboard serving as a component of a match.
- 2Any similarly small and thin piece.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how matchstick appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
A piece of wood or cardboard becomes a matchstick once the end has been dipped in a sulfurous compound to turn it into a complete match.
The explosion blew the powder shed to matchsticks.
Etymology
From match + stick.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "matchstick", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).