newsboy

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"newsboy" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“newsboy” is uncommon English (frequency #86,566 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,566
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A boy, or by extension a man, who sells and/or delivers newspapers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-newsboy · newsboy · English

newsboy · rank #86,566 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,566
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH neurogenic

Nearest frequency peer: neurogenic (-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 “newsboy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for newsboy
PropertyValue
Headwordnewsboy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#86,566
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “newsboy” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).newsboyfalls 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: “neurogenic” (#86,565), “neurocognitive” (#86,564), “Niamey” (#86,568). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “newsboy” is #86,566. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

newsboy is uncommon English at frequency #86,566 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for newsboy in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From news + boy. The correct English form is newsboy, spelled N-E-W-S-B-O-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A boy, or by extension a man, who sells and/or delivers newspapers.
  2. 2
    Ellipsis of newsboy cap.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how newsboy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A newsboy passed by, yelling, "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!"
  2. He was wearing a gray newsboy and a tan jacket.

Etymology

From news + boy.

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 "newsboy"?
"newsboy" is spelled N-E-W-S-B-O-Y.
What does "newsboy" mean?
As a noun, "newsboy" means: A boy, or by extension a man, who sells and/or delivers newspapers.
What is the origin of the word "newsboy"?
From news + boy. 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 "newsboy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Nellore#86,562norther#86,575O'Flynn#86,581orogeny#86,601

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list