tabloid

/ˈtæblɔɪd/

//ˈtæblɔɪd// noun

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

"tabloid" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tabloid” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,090. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,090
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small, compressed portion of a chemical, drug, food substance, etc.; a pill, a tablet.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tabloid · tabloid · English

tabloid · rank #21,090 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #21,090
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sylvester

Nearest frequency peer: Sylvester (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tabloid”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tabloid” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tabloid vs tabled
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tabloid
PropertyValue
Headwordtabloid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtæblɔɪd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#21,090
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tabloid”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Sylvester” (#21,089), “Taft” (#21,091), “Taurus” (#21,092). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tabloid” is #21,090. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around tabloid (IPA /ˈtæblɔɪd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,090 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for tabloid, with forms such as "atbloid", "tabbloid", and "tabliod". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "tabled", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from tabl(et) + -oid (suffix meaning ‘having the likeness of, resembling’), originally coined by the United Kingdom firm Burroughs, Wellcome & Company as a brand name for their medicines and other products such as tea in tablet form and … The correct English form is tabloid, spelled T-A-B-L-O-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small, compressed portion of a chemical, drug, food substance, etc.; a pill, a tablet.
  2. 2
    A compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature.
  3. 3
    A compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature.
  4. 4
    A compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. One of the compartments was found to contain some forty compressed tabloids, which on analysis proved to be potassium bromide.
  2. Messrs. Burroughs and Wellcome have for some years past made a specialty of supplying various developers and other photographic preparations in "tabloid" form. A large number of tabloids are contained in a very small bottle, and only require crushing and dissolving in the stated quantity of water to produce a large volume of solution. […] A word of warnin…

Etymology

The noun is derived from tabl(et) + -oid (suffix meaning ‘having the likeness of, resembling’), originally coined by the United Kingdom firm Burroughs, Wellcome & Company as a brand name for their medicines and other products such as tea in tablet form and registered as a trademark on 14 March 1884. Noun sense 2 (“compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature”) is influenced by noun sense 2.2 (“newspaper characterized as favouring stories of a popular or sensational nature over serious news”). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

tabloide(Español)tabloïd(Français)Tabloid(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atbloid
  • tabbloid
  • tabliod
  • tablloid
  • tablodi
  • tabloidd
  • tabolid
  • talboid
  • tbaloid
  • ttabloid

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tabloid - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

atbloid2tabbloid1tabliod2tablloid1tablodi2tabloidd1tabolid2talboid2
Edit distance from "tabloid"

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 "tabloid"?
"tabloid" is spelled T-A-B-L-O-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtæblɔɪd/.
What does "tabloid" mean?
As a noun, "tabloid" means: A small, compressed portion of a chemical, drug, food substance, etc.; a pill, a tablet.
What words are commonly confused with "tabloid"?
"tabloid" is commonly confused with "tabled". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tabloid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tabloid" is /ˈtæblɔɪd/. 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 "tabloid"?
The noun is derived from tabl(et) + -oid (suffix meaning ‘having the likeness of, resembling’), originally coined by the United Kingdom firm Burroughs, Wellcome & Company as a brand name for their medicines and other products such as tea in tablet... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

studded#21,082trickle#21,102spectra#21,073webinar#21,110

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

scaring10 variantsreptile10 variantsrealtor10 variantsbandage10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list