workhorse
/ˈwɜːkhɔːs/
"workhorse" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“workhorse” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,976. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #40,976
- frequency rank, English
- 12,113
- “W” headwords
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A horse used primarily for manual labor; a draft horse.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | workhorse |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɜːkhɔːs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #40,976 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “workhorse” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 14 spelling variants around workhorse (IPA /ˈwɜːkhɔːs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,976 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for workhorse, with forms such as "owrkhorse", "wokrhorse", and "worhkorse". 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. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "workhouse", "workforce", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English werkehorse, equivalent to work + horse. The correct English form is workhorse, spelled W-O-R-K-H-O-R-S-E.
Definition
- 1A horse used primarily for manual labor; a draft horse.
- 2Someone or something that does a lot of work; something or someone who works consistently or regularly.
Etymology
From Middle English werkehorse, equivalent to work + horse.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- owrkhorse
- wokrhorse
- worhkorse
- workhhorse
- workhores
- workhorrse
- workhorsse
- workhosre
- workhrose
- workkhorse
- workohrse
- worrkhorse
- wrokhorse
- wworkhorse
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of workhorse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "workhorse"?
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Using “workhorse”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-O-R-K-H-O-R-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɜːkhɔːs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “workhouse” - see the side-by-side comparison. workhorse vs workhouse
- 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.