undershirt

noun

"undershirt" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“undershirt” is uncommon English (frequency #68,719 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,719
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An undergarment worn beneath a shirt, often collarless and sleeveless.

Corpus desk

Index EN-undershirt · undershirt · English

undershirt · rank #68,719 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,719
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH underlay

Nearest frequency peer: underlay (-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 “undershirt”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for undershirt
PropertyValue
Headwordundershirt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#68,719
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “undershirt” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).undershirtfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “underlay” (#68,718), “understory” (#68,720), “uncivil” (#68,717). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “undershirt” is #68,719. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

undershirt is uncommon English at frequency #68,719 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An undergarment worn beneath a shirt, often collarless and sleeveless.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for undershirt, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From under- + shirt. The correct English form is undershirt, spelled U-N-D-E-R-S-H-I-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An undergarment worn beneath a shirt, often collarless and sleeveless.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And she’ll say, “Ooh, look at my baby’s undershirt! What sweet little sockies! What clothesies does my little one want?” ‘All perversion I see! And this lady, doesn’t she have any children?’
  2. An undershirt absorbs moisture from your body and equalizes your body temperature.

Etymology

From under- + shirt.

Synonyms

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

How do you spell "undershirt"?
"undershirt" is spelled U-N-D-E-R-S-H-I-R-T.
What does "undershirt" mean?
As a noun, "undershirt" means: An undergarment worn beneath a shirt, often collarless and sleeveless.
What is the origin of the word "undershirt"?
From under- + shirt. 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 "undershirt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list