metatarsal
/ˌmɛtəˈtɑː(ɹ)səl/
"metatarsal" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“metatarsal” is uncommon English (frequency #53,698 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #53,698
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of the metatarsus.
Corpus desk
Index EN-metatarsal · metatarsal · English
metatarsal · rank #53,698 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #53,698
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH Mesopotamian
Nearest frequency peer: Mesopotamian (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “metatarsal”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- meerkat
meerkat
46,306 corpus weight
- mesenchymal
mesenchymal
46,305 corpus weight
- Mesopotamian
Mesopotamian
46,304 corpus weight
- metatarsal
metatarsal
46,303 corpus weight
- mhm
mhm
46,302 corpus weight
- microstruct…
microstructure
46,301 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “metatarsal” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | metatarsal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌmɛtəˈtɑː(ɹ)səl/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #53,698 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “metatarsal” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
metatarsal is uncommon English at frequency #53,698 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌmɛtəˈtɑː(ɹ)səl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of the metatarsus.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for metatarsal, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From meta- + tarsal. The correct English form is metatarsal, spelled M-E-T-A-T-A-R-S-A-L.
Definition
- 1Of the metatarsus.
Etymology
From meta- + tarsal.
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 "metatarsal"?
What does "metatarsal" mean?
How do you pronounce "metatarsal"?
What is the origin of the word "metatarsal"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "metatarsal", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "metatarsal". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #53,698 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.