shootout
/ˈʃuːtaʊt/
"shootout" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shootout” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,834 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,834
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A decisive battle, especially a gunfight.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shootout |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʃuːtaʊt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,834 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shootout” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for shootout is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʃuːtaʊt/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,834 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for shootout, with forms such as "hsootout", "shhootout", and "shoootut". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "shutout", "shortcut", "shoutout", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Deverbal from shoot out. The correct English form is shootout, spelled S-H-O-O-T-O-U-T.
Definition
- 1A decisive battle, especially a gunfight.
- 2A penalty shootout.
- 3A series of penalty shots during which a tied game is resolved.
- 4A multitable poker tournament in which only the last player on a table goes on to the next.
- 5A match in which both teams score highly.
Etymology
Deverbal from shoot out.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hsootout,shhootout,shoootut,shoototu,shootoutt,shoottout,shootuot,shotoout,shotout,sohotout,sshootout
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shootout - 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.
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 "shootout"?
What does "shootout" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "shootout"?
How do you pronounce "shootout"?
What is the origin of the word "shootout"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “shootout”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-H-O-O-T-O-U-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈʃuːtaʊt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “shutout” - see the side-by-side comparison. shootout vs shutout
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.