red-light district

noun

"red-light-district" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“red-light district” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A part of an urban area where prostitution and sex-oriented businesses are concentrated.

Corpus desk

Index EN-red-light-district · red-light district · English

red-light district · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 18 letters
  • VOW-4 4 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.

Key facts for red-light district
PropertyValue
Headwordred-light district
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “red-light district” in English

red-light districtfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

red-light district is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A part of an urban area where prostitution and sex-oriented businesses are concentrated.".

red-light district has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From red, light and district. Referring to the red lights that were used as signs for brothels. The correct English form is red-light district, spelled R-E-D---L-I-G-H-T- -D-I-S-T-R-I-C-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A part of an urban area where prostitution and sex-oriented businesses are concentrated.

Etymology

From red, light and district. Referring to the red lights that were used as signs for brothels.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "red-light district"?
"red-light district" is spelled R-E-D---L-I-G-H-T- -D-I-S-T-R-I-C-T.
What does "red-light district" mean?
As a noun, "red-light district" means: A part of an urban area where prostitution and sex-oriented businesses are concentrated.
What is the origin of the word "red-light district"?
From red, light and district. Referring to the red lights that were used as signs for brothels. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list