wigwam
/ˈwɪɡwɑːm/
"wigwam" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wigwam” is an uncommon English word, ranked #68,756 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #68,756
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A dwelling having an arched framework overlaid with bark, hides, or mats, used by Native Americans in the northeastern United States.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wigwam |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɪɡwɑːm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #68,756 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wigwam” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for wigwam is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɪɡwɑːm/. Corpus data places it at rank #68,756 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
wigwam doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Abenaki wigwôm (“house”) or Penobscot wigwom (“house”), from Proto-Algonquian *wi·kiwa·ʔmi (“house”). Doublet of wickiup. The correct English form is wigwam, spelled W-I-G-W-A-M.
Definition
- 1A dwelling having an arched framework overlaid with bark, hides, or mats, used by Native Americans in the northeastern United States.
- 2Any more or less similar dwelling used by indigenous people in other parts of the world.
Etymology
Borrowed from Abenaki wigwôm (“house”) or Penobscot wigwom (“house”), from Proto-Algonquian *wi·kiwa·ʔmi (“house”). Doublet of wickiup.
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 “wigwam”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-I-G-W-A-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɪɡwɑːm/ (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.