wildfowl

/ˈwaɪldfaʊl/

//ˈwaɪldfaʊl// noun

"wildfowl" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wildfowl” is uncommon English (frequency #89,023 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,023
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any wild bird such as ducks, geese or swans.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wildfowl · wildfowl · English

wildfowl · rank #89,023 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,023
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH Winterton

Nearest frequency peer: Winterton (+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 “wildfowl”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for wildfowl
PropertyValue
Headwordwildfowl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwaɪldfaʊl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#89,023
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “wildfowl” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).wildfowlfalls 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: “Winterton” (#89,025), “wittle” (#89,027), “wrasse” (#89,030). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wildfowl” is #89,023. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

wildfowl is uncommon English at frequency #89,023 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈwaɪldfaʊl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any wild bird such as ducks, geese or swans.".

wildfowl has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From wild + fowl. The correct English form is wildfowl, spelled W-I-L-D-F-O-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any wild bird such as ducks, geese or swans.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonyms: gamefowl, game bird
  2. […] Whoso seeks an audit here Propitious, pays his tribute, game or fish, Wildfowl or ven’son, and his errand speeds.

Etymology

From wild + fowl.

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

How do you spell "wildfowl"?
"wildfowl" is spelled W-I-L-D-F-O-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwaɪldfaʊl/.
What does "wildfowl" mean?
As a noun, "wildfowl" means: Any wild bird such as ducks, geese or swans.
How do you pronounce "wildfowl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wildfowl" is /ˈwaɪldfaʊl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "wildfowl"?
From wild + fowl. 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 "wildfowl", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list