English Word Reference Free

ragweed

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "ragweed", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "ragweed" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "ragweed" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

ragweed is aEnglishnoun. It means: A plant of the genus Ambrosia. These weeds are particularly noted for producing pollen that triggers hay fever. Pronounced /ˈɹæɡˌwid/.

Compare similar words

See how ragweed compares against similar English words.

Browse all word comparisons →
Key facts for ragweed
PropertyValue
Headwordragweed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹæɡˌwid/
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,334
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of ragweed in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for ragweed is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹæɡˌwid/. Corpus data places it at rank #75,334 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for ragweed in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns.It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From rag + weed. Compare Middle English ragwed (“butcher's broom”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is ragweed, spelled R-A-G-W-E-E-D, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A plant of the genus Ambrosia. These weeds are particularly noted for producing pollen that triggers hay fever.
  2. 2
    A summer cypress, mock cypress (Bassia scoparia).

Etymology

From rag + weed. Compare Middle English ragwed (“butcher's broom”).

Frequency rank: #75,334 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ragweed"?
"ragweed" is spelled R-A-G-W-E-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹæɡˌwid/.
What does "ragweed" mean?
As a noun, "ragweed" means: A plant of the genus Ambrosia. These weeds are particularly noted for producing pollen that triggers hay fever.
How do you pronounce "ragweed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ragweed" is /ˈɹæɡˌwid/. 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 "ragweed"?
From rag + weed. Compare Middle English ragwed (“butcher's broom”). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

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.