obstruct
/əbˈstɹʌkt/
"obstruct" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obstruct” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,862 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #25,862
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To block or fill (a passage) with obstacles or an obstacle.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obstruct |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əbˈstɹʌkt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #25,862 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obstruct” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for obstruct is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əbˈstɹʌkt/. Corpus data places it at rank #25,862 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for obstruct, with forms such as "bostruct", "obbstruct", and "obsrtuct". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin past participle stem obstruct- (“blocked up”), from verb obstruere, from ob (“against”) + struere (“pile up, build”). The correct English form is obstruct, spelled O-B-S-T-R-U-C-T.
Definition
- 1To block or fill (a passage) with obstacles or an obstacle.
- 2To impede, retard, or interfere with; hinder.
- 3To get in the way of so as to hide from sight.
Etymology
From Latin past participle stem obstruct- (“blocked up”), from verb obstruere, from ob (“against”) + struere (“pile up, build”).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bostruct,obbstruct,obsrtuct,obsstruct,obstrcut,obstrruct,obstrucct,obstructt,obstrutc,obsttruct,obsturct,obtsruct,osbtruct
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obstruct - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “obstruct”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-S-T-R-U-C-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əbˈstɹʌkt/ (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.