redlining

noun

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

The verdict

“redlining” is uncommon English (frequency #84,667 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,667
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The process of or an instance of redlining.

Corpus desk

Index EN-redlining · redlining · English

redlining · rank #84,667 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,667
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reductionism

Nearest frequency peer: reductionism (+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 “redlining”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for redlining
PropertyValue
Headwordredlining
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#84,667
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “redlining” 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).redliningfalls 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: “reductionism” (#84,668), “reentering” (#84,669), “reestablishment” (#84,670). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “redlining” is #84,667. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

redlining is uncommon English at frequency #84,667 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

redlining has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: (systematic denial): From the red outlines used by the HOLC to mark D-rated neighborhoods with minority occupants. The correct English form is redlining, spelled R-E-D-L-I-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The process of or an instance of redlining.
  2. 2
    The systematic denial of various services to residents of specific, often racially associated, neighborhoods or communities, either directly or through the selective raising of prices.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how redlining appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I won't soon forget Ben handing me the first of those printouts, literally covered with his notes, arrows, X's, redlinings...My heart sank.
  2. Admittedly, our metropolitan plan was an exercise in hope. There were million reasons why it might not have worked. But it represented a responsible way to try to begin atoning for the public housing ghettos, the racial zoning and covenants, the redlining, the “Negro removal,” and the other policies and practices that had given us the two separate and une…

Etymology

(systematic denial): From the red outlines used by the HOLC to mark D-rated neighborhoods with minority occupants.

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 "redlining"?
"redlining" is spelled R-E-D-L-I-N-I-N-G.
What does "redlining" mean?
As a noun, "redlining" means: The process of or an instance of redlining.
What is the origin of the word "redlining"?
(systematic denial): From the red outlines used by the HOLC to mark D-rated neighborhoods with minority occupants. 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 "redlining", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list