Catastrophy or catastrophe?
Did you mean catastrophe? Here's the right spelling and how to remember it.
Incorrect
catastrophy
Correct
catastrophe
Correct spelling: catastrophe. Misspelling: catastrophy.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
Memory tip
The end is -phe with an E: catastro-PHE. Its partner word is catastrophic.
Why people write “catastrophy”
The misspelling “catastrophy” is only one letter off: it uses Y in place of E.
Spell-checkers catch the mistake in a document, but not in a handwritten note, a text message or a word game. Writing the word out a few times while saying the tricky part aloud is the quickest way to make catastrophe automatic.
Other misspellings of “catastrophe”
People also write “catastrofe”. Here is where each one goes wrong.
“catastrofe”
Correct spelling: catastrophe. Misspelling: catastrofe.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
“catastrofe” differs from “catastrophe” in 2 places: it leaves out the P; and it uses F in place of H.
What does “catastrophe” mean?
catastrophe noun
- an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
“the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity”
- a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
“lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our school system”
Synonyms:disaster
- a sudden violent change in the earth's surface
Synonyms:cataclysm
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Full dictionary entry
“Catastrophe” in a sentence
- The flood was a catastrophe for the town.
- The whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity.
- Lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our school system.
Is “catastrophe” a playable word?
18 points in Scrabble · 19 in Words With Friends
- Scrabble (US)
- Scrabble (UK)
- Words With Friends
“catastrophy” is not accepted in any of these games. See every word you can make from CATASTROPHE.