according to

Name: according to, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

prep

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“according to” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a preposition. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English: 12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Based on what is said or stated by; on the authority of; by the order of.

Key facts for according to
Property	Value
Headword	according to
Language	English
Part of speech	Preposition
Letters	12
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “according to” sits in English frequency

according to falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

according to is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as apreposition. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for according to in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is according to, spelled A-C-C-O-R-D-I-N-G- -T-O.

Definition

1
Based on what is said or stated by; on the authority of; by the order of.
2
In a manner conforming or corresponding to; in proportion to; in accordance with.
3
Depending on.

This word in other languages

según(Español)selon(Français)laut(Deutsch)de acordo com(Português)

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 "according to"?

"according to" is spelled A-C-C-O-R-D-I-N-G- -T-O.

What does "according to" mean?

As a preposition, "according to" means: Based on what is said or stated by; on the authority of; by the order of.

What language does "according to" come from?

"according to" is a English 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.

Using “according to”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is A-C-C-O-R-D-I-N-G- -T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

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.