wringer

/ˈɹɪŋə(ɹ)/

//ˈɹɪŋə(ɹ)// noun

"wringer" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wringer” is uncommon English (frequency #67,966 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,966
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who wrings.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wringer · wringer · English

wringer · rank #67,966 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,966
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH wraiths

Nearest frequency peer: wraiths (-1 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 “wringer”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for wringer
PropertyValue
Headwordwringer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹɪŋə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#67,966
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “wringer” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).wringerfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “wraiths” (#67,965), “wrinkling” (#67,967), “writeup” (#67,968). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wringer” is #67,966. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

wringer is uncommon English at frequency #67,966 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹɪŋə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for wringer in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wringere, equivalent to wring + -er. The correct English form is wringer, spelled W-R-I-N-G-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who wrings.
  2. 2
    One who wrings.
  3. 3
    A device for drying laundry consisting of two rollers between which the wet laundry is squeezed (or wrung).
  4. 4
    Something that causes pain, hardship, or exertion; an ordeal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We wringers of hands don't really want a step to take! We want to continue our hand-wringing and feel hostile toward anyone who acts as if there's something simple to do about any problem.
  2. Reynders brushed a messy lock of orange hair out of her eyes for the dozenth time. Her body didn't change in the ADDC, actively resisted and eventually reverted any changes being consciously made to it, but in her constant state of nervous paranoia she was doing a bang-up job of making herself look like she'd been through several sequential wringers. "I k…

Etymology

From Middle English wringere, equivalent to wring + -er.

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 "wringer"?
"wringer" is spelled W-R-I-N-G-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɪŋə(ɹ)/.
What does "wringer" mean?
As a noun, "wringer" means: One who wrings.
How do you pronounce "wringer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wringer" is /ˈɹɪŋə(ɹ)/. 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 "wringer"?
From Middle English wringere, equivalent to wring + -er. 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 "wringer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list