newcomb
/ˈn(j)uːkəm/
"newcomb" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“newcomb” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #48,378 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #48,378
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A sport that is a variation of volleyball, but in which one may catch the ball.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | newcomb |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈn(j)uːkəm/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #48,378 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “newcomb” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for newcomb is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈn(j)uːkəm/. Corpus data places it at rank #48,378 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A sport that is a variation of volleyball, but in which one may catch the ball.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for newcomb, with forms such as "enwcomb", "necwomb", and "newccomb". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Newsom", "newcomer", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Named after Sophie Newcomb College, where it was invented. The correct English form is newcomb, spelled N-E-W-C-O-M-B.
Definition
- 1A sport that is a variation of volleyball, but in which one may catch the ball.
Etymology
Named after Sophie Newcomb College, where it was invented.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: enwcomb,necwomb,newccomb,newcmob,newcobm,newcombb,newcommb,newocmb,newwcomb,nnewcomb,nwecomb
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of newcomb - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “newcomb”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-E-W-C-O-M-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈn(j)uːkəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Newsom” - see the side-by-side comparison. newcomb vs Newsom
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.