yellowtail

adj

"yellowtail" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“yellowtail” is uncommon English (frequency #73,816 among 2,763 “Y” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,816
frequency rank, English
2,763
“Y” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having a yellow tail.

Key facts for yellowtail
PropertyValue
Headwordyellowtail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Frequency rank#73,816
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “yellowtail” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). yellowtail lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

yellowtail is uncommon English at frequency #73,816 among 2,763 “Y” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Having a yellow tail.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for yellowtail, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Bahuvrihi compound of yellow + tail The correct English form is yellowtail, spelled Y-E-L-L-O-W-T-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a yellow tail.

Etymology

Bahuvrihi compound of yellow + tail

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 "yellowtail"?
"yellowtail" is spelled Y-E-L-L-O-W-T-A-I-L.
What does "yellowtail" mean?
As an adjective, "yellowtail" means: Having a yellow tail.
What is the origin of the word "yellowtail"?
Bahuvrihi compound of yellow + tail 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.

Using “yellowtail”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is Y-E-L-L-O-W-T-A-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list