spendthrift
/ˈspɛn(d)θɹɪft/
"spendthrift" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“spendthrift” is an uncommon English word, ranked #72,783 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #72,783
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Improvident, profligate, or wasteful.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | spendthrift |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈspɛn(d)θɹɪft/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #72,783 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “spendthrift” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for spendthrift is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈspɛn(d)θɹɪft/. Corpus data places it at rank #72,783 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for spendthrift, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From spend + thrift (“(archaic) savings; profits; wealth”). The correct English form is spendthrift, spelled S-P-E-N-D-T-H-R-I-F-T.
Definition
- 1Improvident, profligate, or wasteful.
- 2Extravagant or lavish.
Etymology
From spend + thrift (“(archaic) savings; profits; wealth”).
This word in other languages
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
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Using “spendthrift”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-P-E-N-D-T-H-R-I-F-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈspɛn(d)θɹɪft/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.