tossup

noun

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

The verdict

“tossup” is uncommon English (frequency #99,949 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,949
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative form of toss-up.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tossup · tossup · English

tossup · rank #99,949 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,949
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH touchback

Nearest frequency peer: touchback (+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 “tossup”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tossup” 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 September 3, 2026
Key facts for tossup
PropertyValue
Headwordtossup
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#99,949
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tossup” 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).tossuplands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “touchback” (#99,950), “Towle” (#99,951), “tomographic” (#99,946). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tossup is uncommon English at frequency #99,949 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative form of toss-up.".

tossup doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Deverbal from toss up. The correct English form is tossup, spelled T-O-S-S-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative form of toss-up.

Etymology

Deverbal from toss up.

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 "tossup"?
"tossup" is spelled T-O-S-S-U-P.
What does "tossup" mean?
As a noun, "tossup" means: Alternative form of toss-up.
What is the origin of the word "tossup"?
Deverbal from toss up. 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 "tossup", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

What to do next

You've looked up "tossup". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #99,949 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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