tumbleweed

Name: tumbleweed, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/

//ˈtʌmbəlwiːd// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“tumbleweed” is uncommon English (frequency #50,859 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,859
frequency rank, English: 27,828
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots once dry, forming a light, rolling mass which is driven by the wind from place to place; as Russian thistle, wild indigo, witch grass, Amaranth...

Key facts for tumbleweed
Property	Value
Headword	tumbleweed
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#50,859
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tumbleweed” 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). tumbleweed lands here:

#50,859

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

Rare enough to double-check

tumbleweed is uncommon English at frequency #50,859 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for tumbleweed in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From tumble + weed. The correct English form is tumbleweed, spelled T-U-M-B-L-E-W-E-E-D.

Definition

1
Any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots once dry, forming a light, rolling mass which is driven by the wind from place to place; as Russian thistle, wild indigo, witch grass, Amaranthus albus, etc.
2
Describing unwanted silence and inactivity. Often used of a situation when one makes a statement that is ignored or ill-received by one's audience, as the resultant silence is likened to that of a desolate desert with rolling tumbleweeds.
3
A tan colour, like that of a tumbleweed.

Etymology

From tumble + weed.

This word in other languages

virevoltant(Français)

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 "tumbleweed"?

"tumbleweed" is spelled T-U-M-B-L-E-W-E-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/.

What does "tumbleweed" mean?

As a noun, "tumbleweed" means: Any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots once dry, forming a light, rolling mass which is driven by the wind from place to place; as Russian thistle, wild indigo, witch grass, Amaranth...

How do you pronounce "tumbleweed"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tumbleweed" is /ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/. 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 "tumbleweed"?

From tumble + weed. 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 “tumbleweed”

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

The one correct English spelling is T-U-M-B-L-E-W-E-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.