roulette

/ɹuːˈlɛt/

//ɹuːˈlɛt// noun

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

"roulette" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“roulette” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,467. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,467
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A game of chance in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered (usually red and black) spaces. When the ball stops, it indicates the result of a variety ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-roulette · roulette · English

roulette · rank #17,467 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,467
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH rounding

Nearest frequency peer: rounding (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “roulette”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “roulette” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

roulette vs rosette
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for roulette
PropertyValue
Headwordroulette
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹuːˈlɛt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#17,467
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “roulette”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “rounding” (#17,468), “Roi” (#17,465), “rowing” (#17,469). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “roulette” is #17,467. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around roulette (IPA /ɹuːˈlɛt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,467 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for roulette, with forms such as "orulette", "roluette", and "roueltte". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "rosette", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French roulette (“roulette, little wheel”). The sense "situation with a random chance of incurring serious harm" may be abstracted from Russian roulette. The correct English form is roulette, spelled R-O-U-L-E-T-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A game of chance in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered (usually red and black) spaces. When the ball stops, it indicates the result of a variety of wagers permitted by the game.
  2. 2
    An instance of risk-taking, especially when the downside exceeds the upside (contrary to the game of roulette where only the wager is lost).
  3. 3
    A small toothed wheel used by engravers to roll over a plate in order to produce rows of dots.
  4. 4
    A similar wheel used to roughen the surface of a plate, as in making alterations in a mezzotint.
  5. 5
    The locus of a point on a plane curve that rolls without slipping along another fixed plane curve.
  6. 6
    Any of the small incisions on a sheet of stamps, used as an alternative to perforations.
  7. 7
    A cylindrical curler for the hair.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Doctors and health officials said that the WRC-TV documentary, "DPT: Vaccine Roulette," emphasized the risks of the vaccine while ignoring the dangers of the disease, which has been almost wiped out in this country.
  2. They would all rather take their chances with the existing policy-making roulette rather than follow process discipline.

Etymology

Borrowed from French roulette (“roulette, little wheel”). The sense "situation with a random chance of incurring serious harm" may be abstracted from Russian roulette.

This word in other languages

ruleta(Español)roulette(Français)Roulette(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • orulette
  • roluette
  • roueltte
  • roulete
  • rouletet
  • roullette
  • roultete
  • rroulette
  • ruolette

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of roulette - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

orulette2roluette2roueltte2roulete1rouletet2roullette1roultete2rroulette1
Edit distance from "roulette"

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 "roulette"?
"roulette" is spelled R-O-U-L-E-T-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹuːˈlɛt/.
What does "roulette" mean?
As a noun, "roulette" means: A game of chance in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered (usually red and black) spaces. When the ball stops, it indicates the result of a variety ...
What words are commonly confused with "roulette"?
"roulette" is commonly confused with "rosette". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "roulette"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "roulette" is /ɹuːˈlɛt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "roulette"?
Borrowed from French roulette (“roulette, little wheel”). The sense "situation with a random chance of incurring serious harm" may be abstracted from Russian roulette. 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 "roulette", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rounding#17,468rhythmic#17,461restroom#17,460scramble#17,478

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

rowing9 variantsSamson9 variantsscatter9 variantsreddish9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list