shotgun
/ˈʃɒtɡʌn/
"shotgun" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shotgun” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,537. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #9,537
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shotgun · shotgun · English
shotgun · rank #9,537 · 11 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-COMMON #9,537
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 54,294
- PHOTO-FINISH Shawn
Nearest frequency peer: Shawn (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “shotgun”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- shah
shah
90,466 corpus weight
- Shawn
Shawn
90,465 corpus weight
- shotgun
shotgun
90,464 corpus weight
- singers
singers
90,463 corpus weight
- snapped
snapped
90,462 corpus weight
- sofa
sofa
90,461 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “shotgun” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | shotgun |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʃɒtɡʌn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #9,537 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shotgun” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around shotgun (IPA /ˈʃɒtɡʌn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,537 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for shotgun, with forms such as "hsotgun", "shhotgun", and "shogtun". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "shogun", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun. The correct English form is shotgun, spelled S-H-O-T-G-U-N.
Definition
- 1A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge.
- 2The front passenger seat in a vehicle, next to the driver; so called because the position of the shotgun-armed guard on a horse-drawn stage-coach, wagon train, or gold transport was next to the driver on a forward-mounted bench seat. Can also be used in situations of claiming other resources such as bedrooms.
- 3A one-story dwelling with no hallways or corridors, with the rooms arranged in a straight line.
- 4An offensive formation in which the quarterback receives the snap at a distance behind the center, often with a running back set to one or both sides of him.
- 5Relating to shotguns, either in a present or past sense.
- 6Relating to the threat of force or dubious means.
- 7Relating to the use of numerous, diverse or indiscriminate means to achieve a particular result.
Etymology
From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- hsotgun
- shhotgun
- shogtun
- shotggun
- shotgnu
- shotgunn
- shottgun
- shotugn
- shtogun
- sohtgun
- sshotgun
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shotgun - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "shotgun"?
What does "shotgun" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shotgun", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
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.