oxbow
/ˈɒksbəʊ/
"oxbow" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“oxbow” is uncommon English (frequency #77,988 among 15,494 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #77,988
- frequency rank, English
- 15,494
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A U-shaped piece of wood used as a collar for an ox, the upper parts of which are fastened to its yoke.
Corpus desk
Index EN-oxbow · oxbow · English
oxbow · rank #77,988 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #77,988
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 15,494
- PHOTO-FINISH Paleocene
Nearest frequency peer: Paleocene (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “oxbow”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- overstock
overstock
22,015 corpus weight
- oxbow
oxbow
22,013 corpus weight
- Paleocene
Paleocene
22,012 corpus weight
- palindrome
palindrome
22,011 corpus weight
- papillary
papillary
22,009 corpus weight
- paramagnetic
paramagnetic
22,007 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “oxbow” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | oxbow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɒksbəʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #77,988 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “oxbow” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
oxbow is uncommon English at frequency #77,988 among 15,494 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɒksbəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for oxbow in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From ox + bow. The correct English form is oxbow, spelled O-X-B-O-W.
Definition
- 1A U-shaped piece of wood used as a collar for an ox, the upper parts of which are fastened to its yoke.
- 2A meander in a river; the land enclosed by such a loop.
Etymology
From ox + bow.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "oxbow"?
What does "oxbow" mean?
How do you pronounce "oxbow"?
What is the origin of the word "oxbow"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "oxbow", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
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.