vacuum cleaner

noun

"vacuum-cleaner" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vacuum cleaner” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets and hard floors.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vacuum-cleaner · vacuum cleaner · English

vacuum cleaner · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "V" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for vacuum cleaner
PropertyValue
Headwordvacuum cleaner
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “vacuum cleaner” in English

vacuum cleanersits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

vacuum cleaner is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

vacuum cleaner has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From vacuum + cleaner. By synchronic analysis, vacuum-clean (a back-formation) + -er. The correct English form is vacuum cleaner, spelled V-A-C-U-U-M- -C-L-E-A-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets and hard floors.
  2. 2
    The buttocks.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. And if that's not a good enough explanation, you can shove it up your vacuum cleaner and turn it on high!

Etymology

From vacuum + cleaner. By synchronic analysis, vacuum-clean (a back-formation) + -er.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "vacuum cleaner"?
"vacuum cleaner" is spelled V-A-C-U-U-M- -C-L-E-A-N-E-R.
What does "vacuum cleaner" mean?
As a noun, "vacuum cleaner" means: A device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets and hard floors.
What is the origin of the word "vacuum cleaner"?
From vacuum + cleaner. By synchronic analysis, vacuum-clean (a back-formation) + -er. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list