tarpon

noun

"tarpon" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tarpon” is uncommon English (frequency #62,561 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,561
frequency rank, English
27,828
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several fishes of the family Elopidae or Megalopidae, especially a large silvery game fish.

Key facts for tarpon
PropertyValue
Headwordtarpon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#62,561
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tarpon” 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). tarpon 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

tarpon is uncommon English at frequency #62,561 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of several fishes of the family Elopidae or Megalopidae, especially a large silvery game fish.".

tarpon doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Compare Dutch tarpoen. Suggestions that the term derives from a Native American term are unlikely. The correct English form is tarpon, spelled T-A-R-P-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of several fishes of the family Elopidae or Megalopidae, especially a large silvery game fish.

Etymology

Compare Dutch tarpoen. Suggestions that the term derives from a Native American term are unlikely.

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

How do you spell "tarpon"?
"tarpon" is spelled T-A-R-P-O-N.
What does "tarpon" mean?
As a noun, "tarpon" means: Any of several fishes of the family Elopidae or Megalopidae, especially a large silvery game fish.
What is the origin of the word "tarpon"?
Compare Dutch tarpoen. Suggestions that the term derives from a Native American term are unlikely. 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 “tarpon”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is T-A-R-P-O-N - 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