semicircle

noun

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

"semicircle" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“semicircle” is uncommon English (frequency #69,436 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,436
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A half of a circle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-semicircle · semicircle · English

semicircle · rank #69,436 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,436
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH seedless

Nearest frequency peer: seedless (-2 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 “semicircle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for semicircle
PropertyValue
Headwordsemicircle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#69,436
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “semicircle” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).semicirclefalls 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: “seedless” (#69,434), “sett” (#69,438), “seamanship” (#69,433). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “semicircle” is #69,436. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

semicircle is uncommon English at frequency #69,436 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for semicircle, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From semi- + circle. The correct English form is semicircle, spelled S-E-M-I-C-I-R-C-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A half of a circle.
  2. 2
    A surveyor's instrument for measuring angles; a graphometer.
  3. 3
    An arc whose center is the penalty spot, extending from the top of the penalty area.

Etymology

From semi- + circle.

This word in other languages

semicírculo(Español)demi-cercle(Français)Halbkreis(Deutsch)

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 "semicircle"?
"semicircle" is spelled S-E-M-I-C-I-R-C-L-E.
What does "semicircle" mean?
As a noun, "semicircle" means: A half of a circle.
What is the origin of the word "semicircle"?
From semi- + circle. 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 "semicircle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

seamanship#69,433scurrilous#69,431schoolroom#69,423sandcastle#69,410

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list