tobacco

/təˈbæk.əʊ/

//təˈbæk.əʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tobacco” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,276. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,276
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any plant of the genus Nicotiana.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tobacco · tobacco · English

tobacco · rank #5,276 · 8 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,276
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH threatening

Nearest frequency peer: threatening (-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 “tobacco”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tobacco” 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).

tobacco vs Tobago
57% similar
tobacco vs tabasco
71% similar

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

Key facts for tobacco
PropertyValue
Headwordtobacco
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/təˈbæk.əʊ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,276
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tobacco”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).tobaccolands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “threatening” (#5,275), “trace” (#5,277), “taxi” (#5,273). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tobacco” is #5,276. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around tobacco (IPA /təˈbæk.əʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,276 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for tobacco, with forms such as "otbacco", "tboacco", and "toabcco". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Tobago", "tabasco", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since 1588, borrowed from Spanish tabaco. The Spanish word could be from Arabic طُبَّاق (ṭubbāq, “Dittrichia viscosa”) or from a Caribbean language such as Kari'na or Taíno or multiple of them, from a word meaning "roll of tobacco leaves" or "a pip… The correct English form is tobacco, spelled T-O-B-A-C-C-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any plant of the genus Nicotiana.
  2. 2
    Leaves of Nicotiana tabacum and some other species cultivated and harvested to make cigarettes, cigars, snuff, for smoking in pipes or for chewing.
  3. 3
    A variety of tobacco.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Tobacco and the plant valerian are also considered to be anaphrodisiac in their effects, diminishing sexual inclination.
  2. Tobacco-settlement bonds are a tribute both to the inventiveness of bankers and the childlike impatience of politicians.

Etymology

Attested since 1588, borrowed from Spanish tabaco. The Spanish word could be from Arabic طُبَّاق (ṭubbāq, “Dittrichia viscosa”) or from a Caribbean language such as Kari'na or Taíno or multiple of them, from a word meaning "roll of tobacco leaves" or "a pipe for smoking tobacco," such as tabago (“tube for inhaling smoke or powdered intoxicating plants”).

This word in other languages

tabaco(Español)tabac(Français)Tabak(Deutsch)tabaco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otbacco
  • tboacco
  • toabcco
  • tobaco
  • tobacoc
  • tobbacco
  • tobcaco
  • ttobacco

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

otbacco2tboacco2toabcco2tobaco1tobacoc2tobbacco1tobcaco2ttobacco1
Edit distance from "tobacco"

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 "tobacco"?
"tobacco" is spelled T-O-B-A-C-C-O. The IPA pronunciation is /təˈbæk.əʊ/.
What does "tobacco" mean?
As a noun, "tobacco" means: Any plant of the genus Nicotiana.
What words are commonly confused with "tobacco"?
"tobacco" is commonly confused with "Tobago", "tabasco". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tobacco"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tobacco" is /təˈbæk.əʊ/. 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 "tobacco"?
Attested since 1588, borrowed from Spanish tabaco. The Spanish word could be from Arabic طُبَّاق (ṭubbāq, “Dittrichia viscosa”) or from a Caribbean language such as Kari'na or Taíno or multiple of them, from a word meaning "roll of tobacco leaves"... 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 "tobacco", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Stanley#5,270spotted#5,268advised#5,288battles#5,296

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

sandy8 variantsSamuel8 variantsroutes8 variantscherry8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list