toucan

/ˈtuːkən/

//ˈtuːkən// noun

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

The verdict

“toucan” is uncommon English (frequency #62,581 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,581
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various neotropical frugivorous birds from the family Ramphastidae, with a large colorful beak.

Corpus desk

Index EN-toucan · toucan · English

toucan · rank #62,581 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,581
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tortoiseshell

Nearest frequency peer: tortoiseshell (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “toucan”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “toucan” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for toucan
PropertyValue
Headwordtoucan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtuːkən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#62,581
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “toucan” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).toucanfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “tortoiseshell” (#62,580), “transpire” (#62,582), “Tocqueville” (#62,579). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “toucan” is #62,581. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

toucan is uncommon English at frequency #62,581 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtuːkən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of various neotropical frugivorous birds from the family Ramphastidae, with a large colorful beak.".

Zero misspellings are on record for toucan in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French toucan, borrowed from Old Tupi tukana, from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *tũkãn, from Proto-Tupian *jɨokãn. The correct English form is toucan, spelled T-O-U-C-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various neotropical frugivorous birds from the family Ramphastidae, with a large colorful beak.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The ear, small and shapely, the arch of the foot, the curve in mouth and nostril, even the indurated hand dyed to the orange-tawny of the toucan's bill, a hand telling alike of the halyards and tar-bucket;

Etymology

Borrowed from French toucan, borrowed from Old Tupi tukana, from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *tũkãn, from Proto-Tupian *jɨokãn.

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 "toucan"?
"toucan" is spelled T-O-U-C-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtuːkən/.
What does "toucan" mean?
As a noun, "toucan" means: Any of various neotropical frugivorous birds from the family Ramphastidae, with a large colorful beak.
How do you pronounce "toucan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "toucan" is /ˈtuːkən/. 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 "toucan"?
Borrowed from French toucan, borrowed from Old Tupi tukana, from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *tũkãn, from Proto-Tupian *jɨokãn. 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 "toucan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list