water buffalo
/ˈwɑtɚˌbʌfəloʊ/
"water-buffalo" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“water buffalo” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A large ungulate, widely used as a domestic animal in Asia, South America. North Africa and Europe: Bubalus bubalis.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | water buffalo |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɑtɚˌbʌfəloʊ/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “water buffalo” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
water buffalo is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈwɑtɚˌbʌfəloʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for water buffalo, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is water buffalo, spelled W-A-T-E-R- -B-U-F-F-A-L-O.
Definition
- 1A large ungulate, widely used as a domestic animal in Asia, South America. North Africa and Europe: Bubalus bubalis.
- 2A water tank mounted on a trailer to be towed by a motor vehicle.
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
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Using “water buffalo”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-A-T-E-R- -B-U-F-F-A-L-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɑtɚˌbʌfəloʊ/ (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
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.