tuco

noun

"tuco" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tuco” is uncommon English (frequency #68,711 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,711
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tomato-based pasta sauce, similar to a ragout or bolognese, traditionally consumed in South America.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tuco · tuco · English

tuco · rank #68,711 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,711
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH twining

Nearest frequency peer: twining (+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 “tuco”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tuco
PropertyValue
Headwordtuco
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#68,711
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tuco” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).tucofalls 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: “twining” (#68,712), “truncation” (#68,709), “umbilicus” (#68,715). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tuco” is #68,711. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tuco is uncommon English at frequency #68,711 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A tomato-based pasta sauce, similar to a ragout or bolognese, traditionally consumed in South America.".

Zero misspellings are on record for tuco in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish tuco. The correct English form is tuco, spelled T-U-C-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tomato-based pasta sauce, similar to a ragout or bolognese, traditionally consumed in South America.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We ate ñoqui in a tuco sauce that they'd ordered already prepared, and Soriano and I drank wine, a De Lucca cabernet sauvignon, while Felip didn't drink anything at all […]
  2. Customize your tuco sauce: add sliced mushrooms, diced aubergine or sliced spinach, or think of some ideas of your own.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish tuco.

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 "tuco"?
"tuco" is spelled T-U-C-O.
What does "tuco" mean?
As a noun, "tuco" means: A tomato-based pasta sauce, similar to a ragout or bolognese, traditionally consumed in South America.
What is the origin of the word "tuco"?
Borrowed from Spanish tuco. 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 "tuco", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list