waterhole

noun

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

"waterhole" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“waterhole” is uncommon English (frequency #69,577 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,577
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A depression in which water collects, especially one where wild animals come to drink.

Corpus desk

Index EN-waterhole · waterhole · English

waterhole · rank #69,577 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,577
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH warmonger

Nearest frequency peer: warmonger (-2 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 “waterhole”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for waterhole
PropertyValue
Headwordwaterhole
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#69,577
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “waterhole” 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).waterholefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “warmonger” (#69,575), “Wario” (#69,574), “Welton” (#69,580). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “waterhole” is #69,577. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

waterhole is uncommon English at frequency #69,577 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for waterhole, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: * water + hole. * (astronomy): Coined by Bernard Oliver in 1971, in allusion to the idea that this part of the spectrum would be that used by extraterrestrial intelligence to communicate. The correct English form is waterhole, spelled W-A-T-E-R-H-O-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A depression in which water collects, especially one where wild animals come to drink.
  2. 2
    A watering hole; a place where people meet to drink and talk.
  3. 3
    A part of the electromagnetic spectrum, between the regions where hydrogen and hydroxyl radiate, that is relatively quiet in terms of radio astronomy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. From habit the sheep would head for the river, but, though it was early spring, the winter had been droughty, and the river was only a string of dangerous water-holes.

Etymology

* water + hole. * (astronomy): Coined by Bernard Oliver in 1971, in allusion to the idea that this part of the spectrum would be that used by extraterrestrial intelligence to communicate.

This word in other languages

aguaje(Español)abreuvoir(Français)Wasserloch(Deutsch)

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 "waterhole"?
"waterhole" is spelled W-A-T-E-R-H-O-L-E.
What does "waterhole" mean?
As a noun, "waterhole" means: A depression in which water collects, especially one where wild animals come to drink.
What is the origin of the word "waterhole"?
* water + hole. * (astronomy): Coined by Bernard Oliver in 1971, in allusion to the idea that this part of the spectrum would be that used by extraterrestrial intelligence to communicate. 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 "waterhole", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

warmonger#69,575Wahhabism#69,572vexatious#69,564trapezoid#69,531

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list