abide

/əˈbaɪd/

//əˈbaɪd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abide" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abide” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,084. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,084
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To endure without yielding; to withstand.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abide · abide · English

abide · rank #13,084 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,084
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH 5K

Nearest frequency peer: 5K (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abide”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “abide” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

abide vs aid
60% similar
abide vs able
60% similar
abide vs acid
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for abide
PropertyValue
Headwordabide
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈbaɪd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,084
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abide”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abidelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “5K” (#13,083), “accumulation” (#13,085), “yarn” (#13,082). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abide” is #13,084. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around abide (IPA /əˈbaɪd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,084 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for abide, with forms such as "abbide", "abdie", and "abidde". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "aid", "able", "acid", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English abyden, from Old English ābīdan (“to abide, wait, remain, delay, remain behind; survive; wait for, await; expect”), from Proto-West Germanic *uʀbīdan, from Proto-Germanic *uzbīdaną (“to expect, tolerate”), equivalent to a- + bide. Cognat… The correct English form is abide, spelled A-B-I-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To endure without yielding; to withstand.
  2. 2
    To bear patiently.
  3. 3
    To pay for; to stand the consequences of.
  4. 4
    Used in a phrasal verb: abide by (“to accept and act in accordance with”).
  5. 5
    To wait in expectation.
  6. 6
    To pause; to delay.
  7. 7
    To stay; to continue in a place; to remain stable or fixed in some state or condition; to be left.
  8. 8
    To have one's abode.
  9. 9
    To endure; to remain; to last.
  10. 10
    To stand ready for; to await for someone; watch for.
  11. 11
    To endure or undergo a hard trial or a task; to stand up under.
  12. 12
    To await submissively; accept without question; submit to.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The old oak tree abides the wind endlessly.
  2. "I never could abide shoemakers," said an old servant,—and it ended in her marrying one.

Etymology

From Middle English abyden, from Old English ābīdan (“to abide, wait, remain, delay, remain behind; survive; wait for, await; expect”), from Proto-West Germanic *uʀbīdan, from Proto-Germanic *uzbīdaną (“to expect, tolerate”), equivalent to a- + bide. Cognate with Scots abide (“to abide, remain”), Middle High German erbīten (“to await, expect”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (usbeidan, “to expect, await, have patience”). The sense of pay for is due to influence from aby.

This word in other languages

quedar(Español)endurer(Français)aushalten(Deutsch)aguentar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbide
  • abdie
  • abidde
  • abied
  • aibde
  • baide

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abide - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

abbide1abdie2abidde1abied2aibde2baide2
Edit distance from "abide"

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 "abide"?
"abide" is spelled A-B-I-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbaɪd/.
What does "abide" mean?
As a verb, "abide" means: To endure without yielding; to withstand.
What words are commonly confused with "abide"?
"abide" is commonly confused with "aid", "able", "acid". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abide"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abide" is /əˈbaɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abide"?
From Middle English abyden, from Old English ābīdan (“to abide, wait, remain, delay, remain behind; survive; wait for, await; expect”), from Proto-West Germanic *uʀbīdan, from Proto-Germanic *uzbīdaną (“to expect, tolerate”), equivalent to a- + bi... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abide", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Anton#13,090weber#13,078avail#13,096tents#13,070

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Benz6 variantsSammy6 variantsclaw6 variantsmuddy6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list