troll

/tɹɒl/

//tɹɒl// noun

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

"troll" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“troll” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,784. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,784
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.

Corpus desk

Index EN-troll · troll · English

troll · rank #10,784 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,784
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ty

Nearest frequency peer: Ty (+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 “troll”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “troll” 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).

troll vs Troy
40% similar
troll vs trot
60% similar
troll vs truly
60% similar

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

Key facts for troll
PropertyValue
Headwordtroll
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹɒl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,784
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “troll”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).trolllands 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 “Ty” (#10,785), “thrive” (#10,782), “uncovered” (#10,786). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “troll” is #10,784. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around troll (IPA /tɹɒl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,784 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for troll, with forms such as "rtoll", "torll", and "trlol". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Troy", "trot", "truly", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Partly: * from Middle English trol (“demon (?); sorcerer (?)”) [and other forms], from Old Norse trǫll (“conjurer, mage; witch”), from Proto-Germanic *truzlą (“supernatural being; demon, fiend; giant; monster”), probably from *trudaną (“to step on; to tread… The correct English form is troll, spelled T-R-O-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
  2. 2
    An ugly or unpleasant person.
  3. 3
    An optical ejection from the top of the electrically active core region of a thunderstorm that is red in colour and seems to occur after tendrils of vigorous sprites extend downward towards cloudtops.
  4. 4
    A Michigander who lives on the mainland, i.e. not a resident of the Upper Peninsula, so named due to living south of the Mackinaw Bridge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He followed their advice, and rode through a rye-field, where the Trolls were unable to follow him, but in their exasperation cried after him, "The red cock shall crow over thy dwelling." And behold! his house stood in a blaze.
  2. The Scandinavian fancied himself surrounded by Trolls,—a kind of goblin men, with vast power of work and skilful production,—divine stevedores, carpenters, reapers, smiths, and masons, swift to reward every kindness done them, with gifts of gold and silver.

Etymology

Partly: * from Middle English trol (“demon (?); sorcerer (?)”) [and other forms], from Old Norse trǫll (“conjurer, mage; witch”), from Proto-Germanic *truzlą (“supernatural being; demon, fiend; giant; monster”), probably from *trudaną (“to step on; to tread”) + *-ilą (suffix forming agent nouns); and * borrowed from Norwegian Bokmål troll, Swedish troll, or Danish trold, from Old Norse trǫll (see above). Doublet of droll and trow. Cognates * Danish fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”) * Icelandic tröll * Middle High German trol, crewtrolle (“spook, wraith; ogre, monster”) * Norwegian fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”) * Swedish trolla (“to conjure”)

This word in other languages

trol(Español)troll(Français)Troll(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtoll
  • torll
  • trlol
  • trol
  • trroll
  • ttroll

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtoll2torll2trlol2trol1trroll1ttroll1
Edit distance from "troll"

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 "troll"?
"troll" is spelled T-R-O-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹɒl/.
What does "troll" mean?
As a noun, "troll" means: a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
What words are commonly confused with "troll"?
"troll" is commonly confused with "Troy", "trot", "truly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "troll"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "troll" is /tɹɒl/. 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 "troll"?
Partly: * from Middle English trol (“demon (?); sorcerer (?)”) [and other forms], from Old Norse trǫll (“conjurer, mage; witch”), from Proto-Germanic *truzlą (“supernatural being; demon, fiend; giant; monster”), probably from *trudaną (“to step on... 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 "troll", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

thigh#10,781stoke#10,775aisle#10,804amino#10,806

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

bleed6 variantspact6 variantsowing6 variantsHaiti6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list