toothless

/ˈtuθləs/

//ˈtuθləs// adj

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

"toothless" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“toothless” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,625. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,625
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having no teeth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-toothless · toothless · English

toothless · rank #30,625 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,625
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tinkering

Nearest frequency peer: tinkering (-2 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 “toothless”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “toothless” 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
Key facts for toothless
PropertyValue
Headwordtoothless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈtuθləs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#30,625
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “toothless”

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).toothlesslands 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 “tinkering” (#30,623), “troubleshooting” (#30,627), “tightness” (#30,622). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “toothless” is #30,625. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around toothless (IPA /ˈtuθləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #30,625 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for toothless, with forms such as "otothless", "toohtless", and "toothelss". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tothles, from Old English tōþlēas, from Proto-Germanic *tanþlausaz (“toothless”), equivalent to tooth + -less. Cognate with Dutch tandeloos (“toothless”), German Low German tannlos (“toothless”), German zahnlos (“toothless”), Danish tand… The correct English form is toothless, spelled T-O-O-T-H-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having no teeth.
  2. 2
    Weak; having no ability to enforce something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a toothless old man
  2. She goes on to explain the difficulty she's having getting visas for Lawrence and for Robert, the 14-year-old who is her older brother and is, amazingly, the last child of the toothless tiny woman who buzzes around us. (I find out later that she is only in her mid-fifties.)

Etymology

From Middle English tothles, from Old English tōþlēas, from Proto-Germanic *tanþlausaz (“toothless”), equivalent to tooth + -less. Cognate with Dutch tandeloos (“toothless”), German Low German tannlos (“toothless”), German zahnlos (“toothless”), Danish tandløs (“toothless”), Swedish tandlös (“toothless”), Icelandic tannlaus (“toothless”).

This word in other languages

desdentado(Español)édenté(Français)zahnlos(Deutsch)desdentado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otothless
  • toohtless
  • toothelss
  • toothhless
  • toothles
  • toothlless
  • toothlses
  • tootlhess
  • tootthless
  • tothless
  • totohless
  • ttoothless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

otothless2toohtless2toothelss2toothhless1toothles1toothlless1toothlses2tootlhess2
Edit distance from "toothless"

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 "toothless"?
"toothless" is spelled T-O-O-T-H-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtuθləs/.
What does "toothless" mean?
As an adjective, "toothless" means: Having no teeth.
What are common misspellings of "toothless"?
Common misspellings include "otothless", "toohtless", "toothelss", "toothhless", "toothles". The correct spelling is "toothless".
How do you pronounce "toothless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "toothless" is /ˈtuθləs/. 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 "toothless"?
From Middle English tothles, from Old English tōþlēas, from Proto-Germanic *tanþlausaz (“toothless”), equivalent to tooth + -less. Cognate with Dutch tandeloos (“toothless”), German Low German tannlos (“toothless”), German zahnlos (“toothless”), D... 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 "toothless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tinkering#30,623tightness#30,622turntable#30,630undressed#30,634

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Uruguayan12 variantsvertices12 variantsairtight12 variantssalinity12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list