tussock
/ˈtʌs.ək/
"tussock" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tussock” is uncommon English (frequency #92,183 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #92,183
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tussock |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtʌs.ək/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #92,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tussock” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
tussock is uncommon English at frequency #92,183 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtʌs.ək/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for tussock in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain. Likely from or related to tusk + -ock (diminutive suffix). Compare Middle High German zūsach (“thicket”), a derivative of Middle High German zūse (“lock of hair”). Compare also Scottish Gaelic dosag (“little tuft”). The correct English form is tussock, spelled T-U-S-S-O-C-K.
Definition
- 1A tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock.
- 2Tussock grass.
Etymology
Uncertain. Likely from or related to tusk + -ock (diminutive suffix). Compare Middle High German zūsach (“thicket”), a derivative of Middle High German zūse (“lock of hair”). Compare also Scottish Gaelic dosag (“little tuft”).
This word in other languages
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
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Using “tussock”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-U-S-S-O-C-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtʌs.ək/ (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.