dreadnought

\dʁɛd.nɔt\

/\dʁɛd.nɔt\/ noun

The verdict

“dreadnought” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Type prédominant de cuirassé utilisé au cours du XXᵉ siècle.

Key facts for dreadnought
PropertyValue
Headworddreadnought
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\dʁɛd.nɔt\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dreadnought” sits in French frequency

dreadnought falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for dreadnought is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \dʁɛd.nɔt\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Type prédominant de cuirassé utilisé au cours du XXᵉ siècle.".

dreadnought has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is dreadnought, spelled D-R-E-A-D-N-O-U-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Type prédominant de cuirassé utilisé au cours du XXᵉ siècle.

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

How do you spell "dreadnought"?
"dreadnought" is spelled D-R-E-A-D-N-O-U-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is \dʁɛd.nɔt\.
What does "dreadnought" mean?
As a noun, "dreadnought" means: Type prédominant de cuirassé utilisé au cours du XXᵉ siècle.
How do you pronounce "dreadnought"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dreadnought" is \dʁɛd.nɔt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "dreadnought" come from?
"dreadnought" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “dreadnought”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is D-R-E-A-D-N-O-U-G-H-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \dʁɛd.nɔt\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

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

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