aboard

/əˈbɔːd/

//əˈbɔːd// adv

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

"aboard" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aboard” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,653. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,653
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aboard · aboard · English

aboard · rank #5,653 · 7 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,653
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH 9th

Nearest frequency peer: 9th (-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 “aboard”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “aboard” 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).

aboard vs award
67% similar
aboard vs abort
67% similar
aboard vs abroad
67% similar

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

Key facts for aboard
PropertyValue
Headwordaboard
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/əˈbɔːd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,653
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “aboard”

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).aboardlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “9th” (#5,652), “abstract” (#5,654), “wrapped” (#5,651). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aboard” is #5,653. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around aboard (IPA /əˈbɔːd/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #5,653 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for aboard, with forms such as "abaord", "abboard", and "aboadr". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "award", "abort", "abroad", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English abord, from a- (“on”) + bord (“board, side of a ship”); equivalent to a- + board. The correct English form is aboard, spelled A-B-O-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car.
  2. 2
    On or onto a horse, a camel, etc.
  3. 3
    On base.
  4. 4
    Into a team, group, or company.
  5. 5
    Alongside.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We all climbed aboard.
  2. As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it.

Etymology

From Middle English abord, from a- (“on”) + bord (“board, side of a ship”); equivalent to a- + board.

This word in other languages

à bord(Français)an Bord(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abaord
  • abboard
  • aboadr
  • aboardd
  • aboarrd
  • aobard
  • baoard

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of aboard - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abaord2abboard1aboadr2aboardd1aboarrd1aobard2baoard2
Edit distance from "aboard"

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 "aboard"?
"aboard" is spelled A-B-O-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbɔːd/.
What does "aboard" mean?
As an adverb, "aboard" means: On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car.
What words are commonly confused with "aboard"?
"aboard" is commonly confused with "award", "abort", "abroad". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "aboard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aboard" is /əˈbɔːd/. 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 "aboard"?
From Middle English abord, from a- (“on”) + bord (“board, side of a ship”); equivalent to a- + board. 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 "aboard", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

accent#5,655wallet#5,648urgent#5,644tricks#5,642

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

beans7 variantscurve7 variantsstake7 variantsEmily7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list