tapir
/ˈteɪpiːə(ɹ)/
"tapir" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tapir” is uncommon English (frequency #67,882 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,882
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An odd-toed ungulate of the genus Tapirus with a long prehensile upper lip.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tapir |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈteɪpiːə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #67,882 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tapir” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
tapir is uncommon English at frequency #67,882 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈteɪpiːə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An odd-toed ungulate of the genus Tapirus with a long prehensile upper lip.".
tapir doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French tapir, from Old Tupi tapi'ira. The correct English form is tapir, spelled T-A-P-I-R.
Definition
- 1An odd-toed ungulate of the genus Tapirus with a long prehensile upper lip.
Etymology
Borrowed from French tapir, from Old Tupi tapi'ira.
Synonyms
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 “tapir”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-A-P-I-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈteɪpiːə(ɹ)/ (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
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.