rappel

/ɹæˈpɛl/

//ɹæˈpɛl// noun

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

"rappel" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rappel” is uncommon English (frequency #72,695 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,695
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Descending by means of a rope, abseiling.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rappel · rappel · English

rappel · rank #72,695 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,695
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH ramrod

Nearest frequency peer: ramrod (-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 “rappel”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for rappel
PropertyValue
Headwordrappel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹæˈpɛl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#72,695
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rappel” 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).rappelfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “ramrod” (#72,694), “Ramin” (#72,693), “rawr” (#72,697). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rappel” is #72,695. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rappel is uncommon English at frequency #72,695 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɹæˈpɛl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Descending by means of a rope, abseiling.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for rappel, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French rappeler (“to pull through (a rope)”). The correct English form is rappel, spelled R-A-P-P-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Descending by means of a rope, abseiling.

Etymology

Borrowed from French rappeler (“to pull through (a rope)”).

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 "rappel"?
"rappel" is spelled R-A-P-P-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹæˈpɛl/.
What does "rappel" mean?
As a noun, "rappel" means: Descending by means of a rope, abseiling.
How do you pronounce "rappel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rappel" is /ɹæˈpɛl/. 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 "rappel"?
Borrowed from French rappeler (“to pull through (a rope)”). 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 "rappel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ramrod#72,694rakyat#72,692Rachid#72,686regula#72,706

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list