skellington

/ˈskɛlɪŋtən/

//ˈskɛlɪŋtən// noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A skeleton.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skellington · skellington · English

skellington · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 skellington
PropertyValue
Headwordskellington
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈskɛlɪŋtən/
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “skellington” in English

skellingtonfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

skellington is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈskɛlɪŋtən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A skeleton.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for skellington, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is skellington, spelled S-K-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A skeleton.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But it were talked on as 'ow 'ee found old Nobes and 'is missus' skellingtons a-sittin' bolt upright in them two chairs, but I doan't know so much 'bout that...
  2. Mary led the way, muttering as she went, "I thought this was a decent house, but lawks! there's a skellington in every cupboard."

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 "skellington"?
"skellington" is spelled S-K-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈskɛlɪŋtən/.
What does "skellington" mean?
As a noun, "skellington" means: A skeleton.
How do you pronounce "skellington"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skellington" is /ˈskɛlɪŋtən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "skellington" come from?
"skellington" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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