world-famous
/ˌwɜːldˈfeɪməs/
"world-famous" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“world-famous” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Renowned universally; known worldwide.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | world-famous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌwɜːldˈfeɪməs/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “world-famous” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
world-famous is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌwɜːldˈfeɪməs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Renowned universally; known worldwide.".
world-famous doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Compound of world + famous. The correct English form is world-famous, spelled W-O-R-L-D---F-A-M-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Renowned universally; known worldwide.
Etymology
Compound of world + famous.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “world-famous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-O-R-L-D---F-A-M-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌwɜːldˈfeɪməs/ (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.