well-known
/ˌwɛlˈnoʊn/
"well-known" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“well-known” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Familiar, famous, renowned, noted or widely known.
Corpus desk
Index EN-well-known · well-known · English
well-known · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | well-known |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌwɛlˈnoʊn/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “well-known” in English
Rare enough to double-check
well-known is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌwɛlˈnoʊn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for well-known in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English well knowen. By surface analysis, well + known. The correct English form is well-known, spelled W-E-L-L---K-N-O-W-N.
Definition
- 1Familiar, famous, renowned, noted or widely known.
- 2Generally recognized; reserved for some usual purpose.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how well-known appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells.
Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.
Etymology
From Middle English well knowen. By surface analysis, well + known.
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.