speedball

noun

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

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

The verdict

“speedball” is uncommon English (frequency #81,843 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,843
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mixture of heroin and cocaine or sometimes other drugs.

Key facts for speedball
PropertyValue
Headwordspeedball
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#81,843
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “speedball” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). speedball lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

speedball is uncommon English at frequency #81,843 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for speedball, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From speed + ball. The correct English form is speedball, spelled S-P-E-E-D-B-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mixture of heroin and cocaine or sometimes other drugs.
  2. 2
    Coffee with espresso.
  3. 3
    A fastball.
  4. 4
    A competitive variant of paintball with an equal playing field, contrasted with woodsball.
  5. 5
    An Egyptian racquet sport.
  6. 6
    An improvised adhoc airdrop resupply pack, composed of ammo, food and water, and other supplies, stuffed into a body bag or duffle bag.
  7. 7
    Synonym of speed bag (“type of punching bag”).

Etymology

From speed + ball.

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 "speedball"?
"speedball" is spelled S-P-E-E-D-B-A-L-L.
What does "speedball" mean?
As a noun, "speedball" means: A mixture of heroin and cocaine or sometimes other drugs.
What is the origin of the word "speedball"?
From speed + ball. 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.

Using “speedball”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-P-E-E-D-B-A-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list