recumbent

adj

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

"recumbent" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“recumbent” is uncommon English (frequency #55,683 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,683
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lying down.

Corpus desk

Index EN-recumbent · recumbent · English

recumbent · rank #55,683 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,683
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reclassificat…

Nearest frequency peer: reclassification (-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 “recumbent”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for recumbent
PropertyValue
Headwordrecumbent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters9
Frequency rank#55,683
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “recumbent” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).recumbentfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “reclassification” (#55,682), “redshift” (#55,684), “reframe” (#55,685). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “recumbent” is #55,683. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

recumbent is uncommon English at frequency #55,683 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for recumbent, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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: From Latin present participle recumbēns, from recumbō (“I recline”). The correct English form is recumbent, spelled R-E-C-U-M-B-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lying down.
  2. 2
    Inactive; idle.

Etymology

From Latin present participle recumbēns, from recumbō (“I recline”).

Synonyms

lying downrecumbent

This word in other languages

yacente(Español)gisant(Français)ruhend(Deutsch)deitado(Português)

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 "recumbent"?
"recumbent" is spelled R-E-C-U-M-B-E-N-T.
What does "recumbent" mean?
As an adjective, "recumbent" means: Lying down.
What is the origin of the word "recumbent"?
From Latin present participle recumbēns, from recumbō (“I recline”). 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 "recumbent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

salacious#55,713sandpiper#55,715plaintive#55,648perdition#55,639

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list