obstacle
/ˈɒbstəkəl/
"obstacle" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obstacle” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,897 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,897
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obstacle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɒbstəkəl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #10,897 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obstacle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for obstacle is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɒbstəkəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,897 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for obstacle, with forms such as "bostacle", "obbstacle", and "obsatcle". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English obstacle, from Old French obstacle, from Latin obstāculum. The correct English form is obstacle, spelled O-B-S-T-A-C-L-E.
Definition
- 1Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively
Etymology
From Middle English obstacle, from Old French obstacle, from Latin obstāculum.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bostacle,obbstacle,obsatcle,obsstacle,obstaccle,obstacel,obstaclle,obstalce,obstcale,obsttacle,obtsacle,osbtacle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obstacle - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "obstacle"?
What does "obstacle" mean?
What are common misspellings of "obstacle"?
How do you pronounce "obstacle"?
What is the origin of the word "obstacle"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “obstacle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-S-T-A-C-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɒbstəkəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.