slimeball

/ˈslaɪm.bɔːl/

//ˈslaɪm.bɔːl// noun

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

"slimeball" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slimeball” is uncommon English (frequency #96,488 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#96,488
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A round lump made up of or coated with slime or a slime-like substance such as mucus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-slimeball · slimeball · English

slimeball · rank #96,488 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #96,488
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skulduggery

Nearest frequency peer: skulduggery (-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 “slimeball”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for slimeball
PropertyValue
Headwordslimeball
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈslaɪm.bɔːl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#96,488
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “slimeball” 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).slimeballfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “skulduggery” (#96,486), “Skeen” (#96,485), “Siwa” (#96,484). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “slimeball” is #96,488. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

slimeball is uncommon English at frequency #96,488 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈslaɪm.bɔːl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for slimeball in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sley- Proto-Germanic *slīmą Old English slīm English slime Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal English ball English slimeball From slime + ball. Sense 1 (“a round lump m… The correct English form is slimeball, spelled S-L-I-M-E-B-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A round lump made up of or coated with slime or a slime-like substance such as mucus.
  2. 2
    A round lump made up of or coated with slime or a slime-like substance such as mucus.
  3. 3
    A person who is slimy (that is, sneaky or underhanded) or otherwise undesirable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The eggs [of a lancet fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum)] that pass out with the manure of an infested sheep do not hatch in the open. When eaten by the snail, they hatch and finally give rise to larvae that pass out of the snail's body in gelatinous "slime[-]balls."
  2. The cercariae contain massive glands, formerly considered to be penetration glands, but now believed to produce the slime responsible for the formation of these balls. It is likely that the slime produced by the snail itself may contribute, at least partly, to the formation of a slimeball.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sley- Proto-Germanic *slīmą Old English slīm English slime Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal English ball English slimeball From slime + ball. Sense 1 (“a round lump made up of or coated with slime or a slime-like substance”) is a calque of German Schleimkugel, from Schleim (“mucus, slime”) + Kugel (“ball”), while sense 1.1 (“a mucus-coated lump containing the cercariae of a liver fluke”) may be a calque of German Schleimball (from Schleim (“slime”) + Ball (“ball”)).

This word in other languages

baboso(Español)cochon(Français)

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 "slimeball"?
"slimeball" is spelled S-L-I-M-E-B-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈslaɪm.bɔːl/.
What does "slimeball" mean?
As a noun, "slimeball" means: A round lump made up of or coated with slime or a slime-like substance such as mucus.
How do you pronounce "slimeball"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slimeball" is /ˈslaɪm.bɔːl/. 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 "slimeball"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sley- Proto-Germanic *slīmą Old English slīm English slime Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal English ball English slimeball From slime + ball. Sense 1 (“a ro... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "slimeball", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Smithtown#96,492subseries#96,529symphonia#96,541tableland#96,543

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list