perestroika

/pɛɹ.ɪˈstɹɔɪ.kə/

//pɛɹ.ɪˈstɹɔɪ.kə// noun

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

"perestroika" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perestroika” is uncommon English (frequency #60,355 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,355
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A program of political and economic reform carried out in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and early 1990s under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Corpus desk

Index EN-perestroika · perestroika · English

perestroika · rank #60,355 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,355
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH periwinkle

Nearest frequency peer: periwinkle (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “perestroika”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “perestroika” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for perestroika
PropertyValue
Headwordperestroika
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɛɹ.ɪˈstɹɔɪ.kə/
Letters11
Frequency rank#60,355
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “perestroika” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).perestroikafalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “periwinkle” (#60,356), “perpetuation” (#60,358), “Pellegrino” (#60,351). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “perestroika” is #60,355. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

perestroika is uncommon English at frequency #60,355 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pɛɹ.ɪˈstɹɔɪ.kə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for perestroika, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Russian перестро́йка (perestrójka, “restructuring”). The correct English form is perestroika, spelled P-E-R-E-S-T-R-O-I-K-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A program of political and economic reform carried out in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and early 1990s under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.
  2. 2
    The period of time in the Soviet Union during which these reforms were carried out and in effect.
  3. 3
    A situation where a small variation of parameters leads to a sudden change in properties.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Gorbachev would introduce glasnost (openness and freedom) and perestroika (economic restructuring) to Russia under his tenure, ultimately freeing thousands of political prisoners and dissidents and trying to address the shortages in food and goods that had become the hallmarks of the failing Soviet economy.
  2. [Gorbachev] did not champion perestroika and glasnost alone; much of the nomenklatura had decided that the Soviet economic and social model was dysfunctional, corrupt and endemically inefficient and had to change.

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian перестро́йка (perestrójka, “restructuring”).

This word in other languages

perestroika(Español)perestroïka(Français)Perestroika(Deutsch)

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 "perestroika"?
"perestroika" is spelled P-E-R-E-S-T-R-O-I-K-A. The IPA pronunciation is /pɛɹ.ɪˈstɹɔɪ.kə/.
What does "perestroika" mean?
As a noun, "perestroika" means: A program of political and economic reform carried out in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and early 1990s under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.
How do you pronounce "perestroika"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perestroika" is /pɛɹ.ɪˈstɹɔɪ.kə/. 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 "perestroika"?
Borrowed from Russian перестро́йка (perestrójka, “restructuring”). 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 "perestroika", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

parishioner#60,343nonspecific#60,316rangefinder#60,406regionalism#60,412

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list