grosso merdo

\ɡʁo.so mɛʁ.do\

/\ɡʁo.so mɛʁ.do\/ adv

The verdict

“grosso merdo” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Grosso modo, en gros, dans les grandes lignes.

Key facts for grosso merdo
PropertyValue
Headwordgrosso merdo
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\ɡʁo.so mɛʁ.do\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “grosso merdo” sits in French frequency

grosso merdo 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 grosso merdo is 12 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɡʁo.so mɛʁ.do\. 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: "Grosso modo, en gros, dans les grandes lignes.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for grosso merdo, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is grosso merdo, spelled G-R-O-S-S-O- -M-E-R-D-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Grosso modo, en gros, dans les grandes lignes.

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 "grosso merdo"?
"grosso merdo" is spelled G-R-O-S-S-O- -M-E-R-D-O. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡʁo.so mɛʁ.do\.
What does "grosso merdo" mean?
As an adverb, "grosso merdo" means: Grosso modo, en gros, dans les grandes lignes.
How do you pronounce "grosso merdo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grosso merdo" is \ɡʁo.so mɛʁ.do\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "grosso merdo" come from?
"grosso merdo" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “grosso merdo”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is G-R-O-S-S-O- -M-E-R-D-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɡʁo.so mɛʁ.do\ (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