tooltip

/ˈtu(ː)l.tɪp/

//ˈtu(ː)l.tɪp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tooltip” is uncommon English (frequency #85,864 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,864
frequency rank, English
27,828
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An element of a graphical user interface in the form of a box of text that appears when a cursor is made to hover over an item; normally used to explain the function of the item.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tooltip · tooltip · English

tooltip · rank #85,864 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,864
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 27,828
  • PHOTO-FINISH tonsillectomy

Nearest frequency peer: tonsillectomy (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “tooltip”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tooltip” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for tooltip
PropertyValue
Headwordtooltip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtu(ː)l.tɪp/
Letters7
Frequency rank#85,864
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tooltip” 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). tooltip 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

tooltip is uncommon English at frequency #85,864 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtu(ː)l.tɪp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An element of a graphical user interface in the form of a box of text that appears when a cursor is made to hover over an item; normally used to explain the function of the item.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for tooltip in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From tool + tip, originally used with toolbars to provide a tip or hint as to what function each graphical icon represented. The term was introduced as ToolTip by Microsoft in the 1990s. The correct English form is tooltip, spelled T-O-O-L-T-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    An element of a graphical user interface in the form of a box of text that appears when a cursor is made to hover over an item; normally used to explain the function of the item.

Etymology

From tool + tip, originally used with toolbars to provide a tip or hint as to what function each graphical icon represented. The term was introduced as ToolTip by Microsoft in the 1990s.

This word in other languages

infobulle(Français)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tooltip"?
"tooltip" is spelled T-O-O-L-T-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtu(ː)l.tɪp/.
What does "tooltip" mean?
As a noun, "tooltip" means: An element of a graphical user interface in the form of a box of text that appears when a cursor is made to hover over an item; normally used to explain the function of the item.
How do you pronounce "tooltip"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tooltip" is /ˈtu(ː)l.tɪp/. 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 "tooltip"?
From tool + tip, originally used with toolbars to provide a tip or hint as to what function each graphical icon represented. The term was introduced as ToolTip by Microsoft in the 1990s. 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 "tooltip", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

tinkler#85,860Toscano#85,868Teaneck#85,852Tayside#85,851
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