rabbit hole

noun

"rabbit-hole" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rabbit hole” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rabbit-hole · rabbit hole · English

rabbit hole · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for rabbit hole
PropertyValue
Headwordrabbit hole
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rabbit hole” in English

rabbit holesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rabbit hole is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for rabbit hole, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From rabbit + hole. Extended senses reference Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice travels down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world. The correct English form is rabbit hole, spelled R-A-B-B-I-T- -H-O-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply.
  2. 2
    A way into such a world.
  3. 3
    A time-consuming tangent or detour, often one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself.
  4. 4
    The initial clue that leads to an alternate reality game.
  5. 5
    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rabbit, hole. The entrance to a rabbit warren or burrow; the whole warren or burrow.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. These mushrooms will take you down the rabbit hole, man.
  2. You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Etymology

From rabbit + hole. Extended senses reference Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice travels down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world.

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

How do you spell "rabbit hole"?
"rabbit hole" is spelled R-A-B-B-I-T- -H-O-L-E.
What does "rabbit hole" mean?
As a noun, "rabbit hole" means: A bizarre world, where everyday rules do not apply.
What is the origin of the word "rabbit hole"?
From rabbit + hole. Extended senses reference Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice travels down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list