rabe
/rɑːb/
"rabe" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rabe” is uncommon English (frequency #61,052 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #61,052
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The budding shoot of a brassica that has bolted.
Corpus desk
Index EN-rabe · rabe · English
rabe · rank #61,052 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #61,052
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH Raiden
Nearest frequency peer: Raiden (+2 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 “rabe”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- prolongation
prolongation
38,957 corpus weight
- publicise
publicise
38,954 corpus weight
- rabe
rabe
38,949 corpus weight
- Raiden
Raiden
38,947 corpus weight
- rationalisa…
rationalisation
38,945 corpus weight
- refracted
refracted
38,940 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “rabe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rabe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /rɑːb/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #61,052 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “rabe” in English
Rare enough to double-check
rabe is uncommon English at frequency #61,052 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /rɑːb/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for rabe, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from broccoli rabe. The correct English form is rabe, spelled R-A-B-E.
Definition
- 1The budding shoot of a brassica that has bolted.
- 2Broccoli rabe.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how rabe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Coal-roasted kale rabe, garlic and chili with pickled ginger, and caramelized ham broth. . . What more can I say?
Brassicas will bolt in early fall, too, […] While these skinny shoots topped with tiny clusters of florets—and eventually blooming flowers—might look rangy, […] I eat them raw in salad or I give them a quick sauté. While the flavor of a rabe echoes the plant, any spiciness or bitterness is generally softer.
Etymology
Back-formation from broccoli rabe.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rabe", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).