trowel

/ˈtɹaʊ.əl/

//ˈtɹaʊ.əl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“trowel” is uncommon English (frequency #56,499 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,499
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mason’s tool, used in spreading and dressing mortar, and breaking bricks to shape them.

Corpus desk

Index EN-trowel · trowel · English

trowel · rank #56,499 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,499
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH topmost

Nearest frequency peer: topmost (-3 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 “trowel”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for trowel
PropertyValue
Headwordtrowel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɹaʊ.əl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#56,499
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “trowel” 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).trowelfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “topmost” (#56,496), “tonality” (#56,495), “tweety” (#56,503). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “trowel” is #56,499. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

trowel is uncommon English at frequency #56,499 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtɹaʊ.əl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

trowel has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English trowell, trouel, truel, from Middle French truelle, from Late Latin truella, from Classical Latin trulla, the diminutive of trua (“ladle”). Doublet of trullo. The correct English form is trowel, spelled T-R-O-W-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mason’s tool, used in spreading and dressing mortar, and breaking bricks to shape them.
  2. 2
    A gardener’s tool, shaped like a scoop, used in taking up plants, stirring soil etc.
  3. 3
    A tool used for smoothing a mold.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. I need to dig a hole for these begonias; would you pass me that trowel?

Etymology

From Middle English trowell, trouel, truel, from Middle French truelle, from Late Latin truella, from Classical Latin trulla, the diminutive of trua (“ladle”). Doublet of trullo.

This word in other languages

trulla(Español)truelle(Français)Kelle(Deutsch)trolha(Português)

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 "trowel"?
"trowel" is spelled T-R-O-W-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹaʊ.əl/.
What does "trowel" mean?
As a noun, "trowel" means: A mason’s tool, used in spreading and dressing mortar, and breaking bricks to shape them.
How do you pronounce "trowel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "trowel" is /ˈtɹaʊ.əl/. 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 "trowel"?
From Middle English trowell, trouel, truel, from Middle French truelle, from Late Latin truella, from Classical Latin trulla, the diminutive of trua (“ladle”). Doublet of trullo. 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 "trowel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

tweety#56,503Tilton#56,489vesper#56,516tannin#56,479

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list