Adams
/ˈædəmz/
"adams" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Adams” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,648 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #4,648
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Adam.
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 | Adams |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈædəmz/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #4,648 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Adams” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Adams is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈædəmz/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,648 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 23 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Adams, with forms such as "aadms", "adamms", and "adamss". 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, "ads", "arms", "adds", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Adam + -s. (fishing fly): Named after Charles Adams, who asked his friend Leonard Halladay to design the fly. The correct English form is Adams, spelled A-D-A-M-S.
Definition
- 1A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Adam.
- 2A number of places in the United States:
- 3A number of places in the United States:
- 4A number of places in the United States:
- 5A number of places in the United States:
- 6A number of places in the United States:
- 7A number of places in the United States:
- 8A number of places in the United States:
- 9A number of places in the United States:
- 10A number of places in the United States:
- 11A number of places in the United States:
- 12A number of places in the United States:
- 13A number of places in the United States:
- 14A number of places in the United States:
- 15A number of places in the United States:
- 16A number of places in the United States:
- 17A number of places in the United States:
- 18A number of places in the United States:
- 19A number of places in the United States:
- 20A number of places in the United States:
- 21A number of places in the United States:
- 22A municipality of Ilocos Norte, Philippines.
- 23The only barangay in the municipality of Adams, Ilocos Norte, Philippines.
Etymology
From Adam + -s. (fishing fly): Named after Charles Adams, who asked his friend Leonard Halladay to design the fly.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aadms,adamms,adamss,adasm,admas,daams
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Adams - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "Adams"?
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Using “Adams”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-D-A-M-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈædəmz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ads” - see the side-by-side comparison. Adams vs ads
- 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.