witch-hunt
/ˈwɪtʃhʌnt/
"witch-hunt" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“witch-hunt” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. 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) - A search for people believed to be using sorcery or harmful magic, typically in order to persecute or punish them.
Corpus desk
Index EN-witch-hunt · witch-hunt · English
witch-hunt · 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 | witch-hunt |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɪtʃhʌnt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “witch-hunt” in English
Rare enough to double-check
witch-hunt is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈwɪtʃhʌnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for witch-hunt, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From witch + hunt. The correct English form is witch-hunt, spelled W-I-T-C-H---H-U-N-T.
Definition
- 1A search for people believed to be using sorcery or harmful magic, typically in order to persecute or punish them.
- 2An attempt to find and punish or harass a group of people perceived as a threat, usually on ideological or political grounds.
- 3A public or political campaign or investigation which smears a person or group.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how witch-hunt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
To-night ye will see. It is the great witch-hunt, and many will be smelt out as wizards and slain.
Simpkins told us that before the days of English witch hunts, the coven organised public and popular festivities such as on the great days of May Eve, Hallowe'en, Candlemas and Lammas. These were called Witches' Sabbats or Frolics.
Etymology
From witch + hunt.
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.