wattle
/ˈwɒtl̩/
"wattle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wattle” is an uncommon English word, ranked #52,096 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #52,096
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A construction of branches and twigs woven together to form a wall, barrier, fence, or roof.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wattle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɒtl̩/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #52,096 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wattle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for wattle is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɒtl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #52,096 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
wattle has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wattel, watel, from Old English watel, watul (“hurdle”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, wind, bend”). The correct English form is wattle, spelled W-A-T-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1A construction of branches and twigs woven together to form a wall, barrier, fence, or roof.
- 2A single twig or rod laid on a roof to support the thatch.
- 3A wrinkled fold of skin, sometimes brightly coloured, hanging from the neck of birds (such as chicken and turkey) and some lizards.
- 4A barbel of a fish.
- 5A decorative fleshy appendage on the neck of a goat.
- 6Loose hanging skin in the neck of a person.
- 7Any of several Australian trees and shrubs of the genus Acacia, or their bark, used in tanning, seen as a national emblem of Australia.
Etymology
From Middle English wattel, watel, from Old English watel, watul (“hurdle”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, wind, bend”).
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
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Using “wattle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-A-T-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɒtl̩/ (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.