tulip

/ˈtulɪp/

//ˈtulɪp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tulip” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,137. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,137
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of flowering plant, genus Tulipa.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tulip · tulip · English

tulip · rank #23,137 · 7 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,137
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tripod

Nearest frequency peer: tripod (-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 “tulip”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tulip” 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).

tulip vs Tulsa
40% similar
tulip vs Turin
40% similar
tulip vs tunic
60% similar

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

Key facts for tulip
PropertyValue
Headwordtulip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtulɪp/
Letters5
Frequency rank#23,137
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tulip”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).tuliplands 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 “tripod” (#23,136), “turnpike” (#23,138), “transnational” (#23,135). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tulip” is #23,137. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around tulip (IPA /ˈtulɪp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,137 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for tulip, with forms such as "tluip", "ttulip", and "tuilp". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "Tulsa", "Turin", "tunic", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French tulipe, from earlier tulipan, from Ottoman Turkish دلبند (tülbent, dülbent, “cheesecloth”), from Classical Persian دلبند (dulband, “turban”). Doublet of turban. The correct English form is tulip, spelled T-U-L-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of flowering plant, genus Tulipa.
  2. 2
    The flower of this plant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "The sturdy burghers of Holland took the tulip mania so badly that single bulbs that could not flower till another year would sell for more than $2000 apiece."
  2. He looked round the poor room, at the distempered walls, and the bad engravings in meretricious frames, the crinkly paper and wax flowers on the chiffonier; and he thought of a room like Father Bryan's, with panelling, with cut glass, with tulips in silver pots, such a room as he had hoped to have for his own.

Etymology

From Middle French tulipe, from earlier tulipan, from Ottoman Turkish دلبند (tülbent, dülbent, “cheesecloth”), from Classical Persian دلبند (dulband, “turban”). Doublet of turban.

This word in other languages

tulipán(Español)tulipe(Français)Tulpe(Deutsch)túlipa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • tluip
  • ttulip
  • tuilp
  • tulipp
  • tullip
  • tulpi
  • utlip

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

tluip2ttulip1tuilp2tulipp1tullip1tulpi2utlip2
Edit distance from "tulip"

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 "tulip"?
"tulip" is spelled T-U-L-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtulɪp/.
What does "tulip" mean?
As a noun, "tulip" means: A type of flowering plant, genus Tulipa.
What words are commonly confused with "tulip"?
"tulip" is commonly confused with "Tulsa", "Turin", "tunic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tulip"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tulip" is /ˈtulɪp/. 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 "tulip"?
From Middle French tulipe, from earlier tulipan, from Ottoman Turkish دلبند (tülbent, dülbent, “cheesecloth”), from Classical Persian دلبند (dulband, “turban”). Doublet of turban. 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 "tulip", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Texan#23,129Tessa#23,127wares#23,152tacky#23,121

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Xanax7 variantsAlyssa7 variantsanemia7 variantssitter7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list