secateurs

/ˈsɛk.əˌtɜːz/

//ˈsɛk.əˌtɜːz// noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Small, handheld pruning shears.

Corpus desk

Index EN-secateurs · secateurs · English

secateurs · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" 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 secateurs
PropertyValue
Headwordsecateurs
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛk.əˌtɜːz/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “secateurs” in English

secateurssits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

secateurs is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɛk.əˌtɜːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Small, handheld pruning shears.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for secateurs, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French sécateurs, plural of sécateur, from Latin secō + -ateur. The correct English form is secateurs, spelled S-E-C-A-T-E-U-R-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Small, handheld pruning shears.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. To start with, I'm going to arm myself with a saw, shears and secateurs to radically prune some of what's there.

Etymology

Borrowed from French sécateurs, plural of sécateur, from Latin secō + -ateur.

Synonyms

pair of secateurspruning shears

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 "secateurs"?
"secateurs" is spelled S-E-C-A-T-E-U-R-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛk.əˌtɜːz/.
What does "secateurs" mean?
As a noun, "secateurs" means: Small, handheld pruning shears.
How do you pronounce "secateurs"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "secateurs" is /ˈsɛk.əˌtɜːz/. 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 "secateurs"?
Borrowed from French sécateurs, plural of sécateur, from Latin secō + -ateur. 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