rathole
"rathole" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rathole” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An entrance to a living area or passageway used by mice or rats.
Corpus desk
Index EN-rathole · rathole · English
rathole · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rathole |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rathole” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
rathole is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for rathole in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From rat + hole. The correct English form is rathole, spelled R-A-T-H-O-L-E.
Definition
- 1An entrance to a living area or passageway used by mice or rats.
- 2A living area used by mice or rats, or a similar living area used by other animals.
- 3A particularly squalid human residence or other place.
- 4An area of a silo that has undergone ratholing, so that material moves mostly through the centre and accumulates around the edges.
- 5A pigeonhole.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how rathole appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Bhantus catch the sanda, or broad-tailed lizard, which dwells in rat-holes in the ground and lives always in fear of the cobra.
Etymology
From rat + hole.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.