absorb
/əbˈzɔːb/
"absorb" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“absorb” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,428. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #9,428
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up.
Corpus desk
Index EN-absorb · absorb · English
absorb · rank #9,428 · 9 variants · 5 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,428
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH Aberdeen
Nearest frequency peer: Aberdeen (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “absorb”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- yacht
yacht
90,576 corpus weight
- Aberdeen
Aberdeen
90,574 corpus weight
- absorb
absorb
90,573 corpus weight
- accompany
accompany
90,572 corpus weight
- accord
accord
90,571 corpus weight
- advancement
advancement
90,570 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “absorb” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | absorb |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əbˈzɔːb/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #9,428 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “absorb” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around absorb (IPA /əbˈzɔːb/), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,428 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for absorb, with forms such as "abbsorb", "abosrb", and "absobr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "absurd", "absorbed", "absorber", 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 French absorber, from Old French assorbir, from Latin absorbeō (“swallow up”), from ab- (“from”) + sorbeō (“suck in, swallow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- (“to sip”). Compare French absorber. The correct English form is absorb, spelled A-B-S-O-R-B.
Definition
- 1To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up.
- 2To engulf, as in water; to swallow up.
- 3To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.
- 4To be absorbed, or sucked in; to sink in.
- 5To take in energy and convert it.
- 6To take in energy and convert it.
- 7To take in energy and convert it.
- 8To take in energy and convert it.
- 9To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully.
- 10To occupy or consume time.
- 11To assimilate mentally.
- 12To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.
- 13To defray the costs.
- 14To accept or purchase in quantity.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how absorb appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.
In some countries, the large cities absorb the wealth and fashion of the nation; they are the only fixed abodes of elegant and intelligent society, and the country is inhabited almost entirely by boorish peasantry.
Etymology
From Middle French absorber, from Old French assorbir, from Latin absorbeō (“swallow up”), from ab- (“from”) + sorbeō (“suck in, swallow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- (“to sip”). Compare French absorber.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- abbsorb
- abosrb
- absobr
- absorbb
- absorrb
- absrob
- abssorb
- asborb
- basorb
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of absorb - 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.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "absorb"?
What does "absorb" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "absorb", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "absorb". Here's where to go from here.
- "absorb" maps to 5 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "absurd". View pair
- 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #9,428 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.