rectus
/ˈɹɛk.təs/
"rectus" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rectus” is uncommon English (frequency #76,260 among 21,470 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #76,260
- frequency rank, English
- 21,470
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several straight muscles in various parts of the body, as of the abdomen, thigh, eye etc.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rectus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹɛk.təs/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #76,260 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rectus” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
rectus is uncommon English at frequency #76,260 among 21,470 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹɛk.təs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for rectus, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin rēctus (“straight, upright”), clipping of mūsculus rēctus (“straight muscle”). The correct English form is rectus, spelled R-E-C-T-U-S.
Definition
- 1Any of several straight muscles in various parts of the body, as of the abdomen, thigh, eye etc.
- 2Any of several straight muscles in various parts of the body, as of the abdomen, thigh, eye etc.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin rēctus (“straight, upright”), clipping of mūsculus rēctus (“straight muscle”).
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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Using “rectus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-C-T-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹɛk.təs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.