obelisk

/ˈɒbəlɪsk/

//ˈɒbəlɪsk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“obelisk” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,999. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,999
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
10
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obelisk · obelisk · English

obelisk · rank #38,999 · 10 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,999
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Obamas

Nearest frequency peer: Obamas (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “obelisk”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “obelisk” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for obelisk
PropertyValue
Headwordobelisk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒbəlɪsk/
Letters7
Frequency rank#38,999
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “obelisk”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).obelisklands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Obamas” (#38,998), “oddball” (#39,000), “offload” (#39,001). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “obelisk” is #38,999. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around obelisk (IPA /ˈɒbəlɪsk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,999 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for obelisk, with forms such as "boelisk", "obbelisk", and "obeilsk". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Compare obelus. The correct English form is obelisk, spelled O-B-E-L-I-S-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.
  2. 2
    Synonym of obelus.
  3. 3
    Synonym of obelus.
  4. 4
    An RNA structure similar to a viroid, with a rod-like secondary structure, which comprises its own phylogenetic group.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "The clay envelope is Sumerian. It is from the third millennium B.C. It was dug up from the city of Eridu is southern Iraq. The black stele or obelisk is the Code of Hammurabi, which dates from about 1750 B.C.
  2. The Washington Monument is often described as an obelisk, and sometimes even as a "true obelisk," even though it is not. A true obelisk is a monolith, a pylon formed out of a single piece of stone.

Etymology

From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Compare obelus.

Synonyms

aguillapylonstela

This word in other languages

obelisco(Español)obélisque(Français)Obelisk(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • boelisk
  • obbelisk
  • obeilsk
  • obeliks
  • obeliskk
  • obelissk
  • obellisk
  • obelsik
  • obleisk
  • oeblisk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obelisk - 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.

boelisk2obbelisk1obeilsk2obeliks2obeliskk1obelissk1obellisk1obelsik2
Edit distance from "obelisk"

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 "obelisk"?
"obelisk" is spelled O-B-E-L-I-S-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒbəlɪsk/.
What does "obelisk" mean?
As a noun, "obelisk" means: A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.
What are common misspellings of "obelisk"?
Common misspellings include "boelisk", "obbelisk", "obeilsk", "obeliks", "obeliskk". The correct spelling is "obelisk".
How do you pronounce "obelisk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obelisk" is /ˈɒbəlɪsk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "obelisk"?
From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Compare obelus. 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 "obelisk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

oddball#39,000offload#39,001outcrop#39,006panning#39,015

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

mythos10 variantsMoulton10 variantspeerless10 variantsPentium10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list