udder

/ˈʌdə/

//ˈʌdə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“udder” is uncommon English (frequency #67,917 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,917
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An organ formed of the mammary glands of female quadruped mammals, particularly ruminants such as cattle, goats, sheep and deer.

Corpus desk

Index EN-udder · udder · English

udder · rank #67,917 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,917
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH Udi

Nearest frequency peer: Udi (+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 “udder”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for udder
PropertyValue
Headwordudder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʌdə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#67,917
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “udder” in English

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).udderfalls 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: “Udi” (#67,918), “UCR” (#67,915), “Ueda” (#67,919). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “udder” is #67,917. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

udder is uncommon English at frequency #67,917 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʌdə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for udder, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English udder, uddyr (also as uther, iddyr), from Old English ūder (“udder; breast”), from Proto-Germanic *ūdarą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ówHdʰr̥ (“udder”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Jadder (“udder”), Dutch uier (“udder”), German Euter … The correct English form is udder, spelled U-D-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    An organ formed of the mammary glands of female quadruped mammals, particularly ruminants such as cattle, goats, sheep and deer.
  2. 2
    A woman's breast.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. squeeze the udder to get milk
  2. The udder of the hyena, tied on the left arm, enticed the affection of any desired woman.

Etymology

From Middle English udder, uddyr (also as uther, iddyr), from Old English ūder (“udder; breast”), from Proto-Germanic *ūdarą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ówHdʰr̥ (“udder”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Jadder (“udder”), Dutch uier (“udder”), German Euter (“udder”), Swedish juver (“udder”), Icelandic júgur (“udder”), Vedic Sanskrit ऊधर् (ū́dhar), Ancient Greek οὖθαρ (oûthar), Latin ūber.

This word in other languages

ubre(Español)pis(Français)Euter(Deutsch)úbere(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 "udder"?
"udder" is spelled U-D-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌdə/.
What does "udder" mean?
As a noun, "udder" means: An organ formed of the mammary glands of female quadruped mammals, particularly ruminants such as cattle, goats, sheep and deer.
How do you pronounce "udder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "udder" is /ˈʌdə/. 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 "udder"?
From Middle English udder, uddyr (also as uther, iddyr), from Old English ūder (“udder; breast”), from Proto-Germanic *ūdarą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ówHdʰr̥ (“udder”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Jadder (“udder”), Dutch uier (“udder”), Ger... 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 "udder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

troon#67,909toney#67,902waken#67,947tapir#67,882

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list