ADHD

/ˌeɪ diː ˌeɪtʃ ˈdiː/

//ˌeɪ diː ˌeɪtʃ ˈdiː// noun

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

"adhd" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ADHD” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,093. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,093
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Initialism of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adhd · ADHD · English

ADHD · rank #15,093 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,093
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH AE

Nearest frequency peer: AE (+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 “ADHD”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ADHD” 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).

ADHD vs ah
0% similar
ADHD vs and
0% similar
ADHD vs aid
0% similar

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

Key facts for ADHD
PropertyValue
HeadwordADHD
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌeɪ diː ˌeɪtʃ ˈdiː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#15,093
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ADHD”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ADHDlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “AE” (#15,094), “a's” (#15,090), “ancestor” (#15,096). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “ADHD” is #15,093. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around ADHD (IPA /ˌeɪ diː ˌeɪtʃ ˈdiː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,093 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Initialism of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for ADHD, with forms such as "addh", "addhd", and "adhdd". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ah", "and", "aid", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is ADHD, spelled A-D-H-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Initialism of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Men diagnosed with ADHD had a reduction in life expectancy by 4 ½ years to nine years, while women’s life expectancy was shortened by 6 ½ years to 11 years, according to the study published Thursday in The British Journal of Psychiatry.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addh
  • addhd
  • adhdd
  • adhhd
  • ahdd
  • dahd

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ADHD - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

addh2addhd1adhdd1adhhd1ahdd2dahd2
Edit distance from "ADHD"

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 "ADHD"?
"ADHD" is spelled A-D-H-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌeɪ diː ˌeɪtʃ ˈdiː/.
What does "ADHD" mean?
As a noun, "ADHD" means: Initialism of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
What words are commonly confused with "ADHD"?
"ADHD" is commonly confused with "ah", "and", "aid". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ADHD"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ADHD" is /ˌeɪ diː ˌeɪtʃ ˈdiː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ADHD" come from?
"ADHD" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "ADHD", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wink#15,085axle#15,105brag#15,115coco#15,131

Similar misspelling depth

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

attire6 variantssuing6 variantsflap6 variantsmoth6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list