guarda-costas

noun

The verdict

“guarda-costas” is uncommon Portuguese (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Portuguese
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - pessoa empregada para acompanhar outra, com a finalidade de defendê-la de algum perigo

Corpus desk

Index PT-guarda-costas · guarda-costas · Portuguese

guarda-costas · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for guarda-costas
PropertyValue
Headwordguarda-costas
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cauda longa: rank de “guarda-costas” em português

guarda-costasnão entra no top 100.000 do português: zona de termos técnicos, arcaicos ou escassos.

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

Rare enough to double-check

guarda-costas is uncommon Portuguese outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "pessoa empregada para acompanhar outra, com a finalidade de defendê-la de algum perigo".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for guarda-costas, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Portuguese form is guarda-costas, spelled G-U-A-R-D-A---C-O-S-T-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    pessoa empregada para acompanhar outra, com a finalidade de defendê-la de algum perigo

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Quase 50 anos depois do assassinato do presidente, um de seus guarda-costas não consegue se livrar do sentimento de culpa.

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

How do you spell "guarda-costas"?
"guarda-costas" is spelled G-U-A-R-D-A---C-O-S-T-A-S.
What does "guarda-costas" mean?
As a noun, "guarda-costas" means: pessoa empregada para acompanhar outra, com a finalidade de defendê-la de algum perigo
What language does "guarda-costas" come from?
"guarda-costas" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list