paper clip
"paper-clip" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“paper clip” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small, folded, wire or plastic device used to hold sheets of paper together.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | paper clip |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “paper clip” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
paper clip is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for paper clip, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. 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.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is paper clip, spelled P-A-P-E-R- -C-L-I-P.
Definition
- 1A small, folded, wire or plastic device used to hold sheets of paper together.
- 2Listed after an amount of money to emphasize a lack of resources.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “paper clip”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-P-E-R- -C-L-I-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.