trolley

noun

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

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

The verdict

“trolley” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,372 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#16,372
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A trolley pole; a single-pole device for collecting electrical current from an overhead electrical line, normally for a tram/streetcar or a trolleybus.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

trolley vs troll
71% similar

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

Key facts for trolley
PropertyValue
Headwordtrolley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,372
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “trolley” 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). trolley lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for trolley is 7 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #16,372 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for trolley, with forms such as "rtolley", "torlley", and "trloley". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "troll", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Early 19th century (1823) meaning "cart", of dialectal origin (Suffolk), probably from troll (“to trundle, roll”) + -ey (diminutive ending). The correct English form is trolley, spelled T-R-O-L-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A trolley pole; a single-pole device for collecting electrical current from an overhead electrical line, normally for a tram/streetcar or a trolleybus.
  2. 2
    A streetcar or light train.
  3. 3
    A light rail, tramway, trolleybus or streetcar system.
  4. 4
    A truck from which the load is suspended in some kinds of cranes.
  5. 5
    A truck which travels along the fixed conductors in an electric railway, and forms a means of connection between them and a railway car.
  6. 6
    A cart or shopping cart; a shopping trolley.
  7. 7
    Clipping of flatbed trolley.
  8. 8
    A hand truck.
  9. 9
    A soapbox car.
  10. 10
    A gurney, a stretcher with wheeled legs.
  11. 11
    A handcar.

Etymology

Early 19th century (1823) meaning "cart", of dialectal origin (Suffolk), probably from troll (“to trundle, roll”) + -ey (diminutive ending).

This word in other languages

trolley(Français)Laufkatze(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: rtolley,torlley,trloley,trolely,troley,trolleyy,trollye,trrolley,ttrolley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtolley2torlley2trloley2trolely2troley1trolleyy1trollye2trrolley1
Edit distance from "trolley"

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 "trolley"?
"trolley" is spelled T-R-O-L-L-E-Y.
What does "trolley" mean?
As a noun, "trolley" means: A trolley pole; a single-pole device for collecting electrical current from an overhead electrical line, normally for a tram/streetcar or a trolleybus.
What words are commonly confused with "trolley"?
"trolley" is commonly confused with "troll". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "trolley"?
Early 19th century (1823) meaning "cart", of dialectal origin (Suffolk), probably from troll (“to trundle, roll”) + -ey (diminutive ending). 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.

Using “trolley”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is T-R-O-L-L-E-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “troll” - see the side-by-side comparison. trolley vs troll
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list