straight man
/ˈstɹeɪtˌmæn/
"straight-man" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“straight man” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A member (of any gender) of a team of comic performers who plays a supporting role by helping to set up jokes and punch lines through engaging in dialog with another comedian playing a more eccentr...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | straight man |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈstɹeɪtˌmæn/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “straight man” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for straight man is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈstɹeɪtˌmæn/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for straight man in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is straight man, spelled S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T- -M-A-N.
Definition
- 1A member (of any gender) of a team of comic performers who plays a supporting role by helping to set up jokes and punch lines through engaging in dialog with another comedian playing a more eccentric or otherwise more interesting character; a foil who plays such a role in theatrical comedy.
- 2Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see straight, man; for example, a heterosexual man.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “straight man”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T- -M-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈstɹeɪtˌmæn/ (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.