whitehead

noun

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

The verdict

“whitehead” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,358. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,358
frequency rank, English
12,113
“W” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A type of comedo, manifesting as a small whitish bump of the skin due to retention of sebum and dead skin cells in a skin pore blocked by a thin layer of epithelium.

Key facts for whitehead
PropertyValue
Headwordwhitehead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#24,358
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “whitehead” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). whitehead lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around whitehead, anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,358 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for whitehead, with forms such as "hwitehead", "whhitehead", and "whiethead". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. 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: From white + head. The correct English form is whitehead, spelled W-H-I-T-E-H-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of comedo, manifesting as a small whitish bump of the skin due to retention of sebum and dead skin cells in a skin pore blocked by a thin layer of epithelium.
  2. 2
    A species of passerine bird, endemic to New Zealand (Mohoua albicilla).
  3. 3
    The blue-winged snow goose, Anser caerulescens caerulescens.
  4. 4
    The surf scoter duck.
  5. 5
    A domestic pigeon of a particular breed; a white-tailed monk.

Etymology

From white + head.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hwitehead
  • whhitehead
  • whiethead
  • whiteehad
  • whitehaed
  • whiteheadd
  • whiteheda
  • whitehhead
  • whitheead
  • whittehead
  • whtiehead
  • wihtehead
  • wwhitehead

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of whitehead - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hwitehead2whhitehead1whiethead2whiteehad2whitehaed2whiteheadd1whiteheda2whitehhead1
Edit distance from "whitehead"

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 "whitehead"?
"whitehead" is spelled W-H-I-T-E-H-E-A-D.
What does "whitehead" mean?
As a noun, "whitehead" means: A type of comedo, manifesting as a small whitish bump of the skin due to retention of sebum and dead skin cells in a skin pore blocked by a thin layer of epithelium.
What are common misspellings of "whitehead"?
Common misspellings include "hwitehead", "whhitehead", "whiethead", "whiteehad", "whitehaed". The correct spelling is "whitehead".
What is the origin of the word "whitehead"?
From white + head. 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.

Using “whitehead”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-H-I-T-E-H-E-A-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list