shuttlecock

/ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɒk/

//ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɒk// noun

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

"shuttlecock" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shuttlecock” is uncommon English (frequency #99,859 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,859
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lightweight object that is conical in shape with a cork or rubber-covered nose, used in badminton the way a ball is used in other racquet games.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shuttlecock · shuttlecock · English

shuttlecock · rank #99,859 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,859
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shushing

Nearest frequency peer: shushing (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “shuttlecock”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for shuttlecock
PropertyValue
Headwordshuttlecock
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɒk/
Letters11
Frequency rank#99,859
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shuttlecock” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).shuttlecockfalls 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: “shushing” (#99,858), “sidetrack” (#99,860), “showplace” (#99,856). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shuttlecock” is #99,859. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shuttlecock is uncommon English at frequency #99,859 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɒk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for shuttlecock, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From shuttle (from the back-and-forth sense of the word originating with loom weaving) + cock (from resemblance to a male bird's plume of tail feathers). The correct English form is shuttlecock, spelled S-H-U-T-T-L-E-C-O-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lightweight object that is conical in shape with a cork or rubber-covered nose, used in badminton the way a ball is used in other racquet games.
  2. 2
    The game of badminton.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Seven or eight of them, standing in a circle, were engaged in a game of shittlecock. They had in their hands no battledores. They did not employ the hand or arm, any way, in striking it. But, after taking a short race, and springing from the floor, they met the descending shittlecock with the sole of the foot, and drove it up again, with force, high into…
  2. In a severe gale like this, while the ship is but a tossed shuttlecock to the blast, it is by no means uncommon to see the needles in the compasses, at intervals, go round and round.

Etymology

From shuttle (from the back-and-forth sense of the word originating with loom weaving) + cock (from resemblance to a male bird's plume of tail feathers).

This word in other languages

volante(Español)volant(Français)Federball(Deutsch)volante(Português)

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 "shuttlecock"?
"shuttlecock" is spelled S-H-U-T-T-L-E-C-O-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɒk/.
What does "shuttlecock" mean?
As a noun, "shuttlecock" means: A lightweight object that is conical in shape with a cork or rubber-covered nose, used in badminton the way a ball is used in other racquet games.
How do you pronounce "shuttlecock"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shuttlecock" is /ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɒk/. 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 "shuttlecock"?
From shuttle (from the back-and-forth sense of the word originating with loom weaving) + cock (from resemblance to a male bird's plume of tail feathers). 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 "shuttlecock", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shamanistic#99,844subterminal#99,908supportable#99,913suprisingly#99,914

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list