adit

/ˈæ.dɪt/

//ˈæ.dɪt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“adit” is uncommon English (frequency #84,958 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,958
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A horizontal or nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine, as contrasted with a shaft or vertical entry passage, used for ventilation, haulage, drainage, or other purposes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adit · adit · English

adit · rank #84,958 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,958
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Adderley

Nearest frequency peer: Adderley (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “adit”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “adit” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for adit
PropertyValue
Headwordadit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæ.dɪt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#84,958
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “adit” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).aditfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Adderley” (#84,957), “adjunctive” (#84,959), “adda” (#84,956). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adit” is #84,958. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

adit is uncommon English at frequency #84,958 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæ.dɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A horizontal or nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine, as contrasted with a shaft or vertical entry passage, used for ventilation, haulage, drainage, or other purposes.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for adit in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin aditus (“entrance, access”), from ad (“to, up to”) + itus (“going, departure”). The correct English form is adit, spelled A-D-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A horizontal or nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine, as contrasted with a shaft or vertical entry passage, used for ventilation, haulage, drainage, or other purposes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A narrow and untrodden cavern at the bottom connects it with the outer sea; they could even then hear the mysterious thunder and gurgle of the surge in the subterranean adit, as it rolled huge boulders to and fro in darkness, and forced before it gusts of pent-up air.
  2. What all these passages are, of course I cannot say, but we thought that they must be the ancient workings of a mine, of which the various shafts and adits travelled hither and thither as the ore led them.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aditus (“entrance, access”), from ad (“to, up to”) + itus (“going, departure”).

This word in other languages

Mundloch(Deutsch)

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 "adit"?
"adit" is spelled A-D-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæ.dɪt/.
What does "adit" mean?
As a noun, "adit" means: A horizontal or nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine, as contrasted with a shaft or vertical entry passage, used for ventilation, haulage, drainage, or other purposes.
How do you pronounce "adit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adit" is /ˈæ.dɪt/. 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 "adit"?
Borrowed from Latin aditus (“entrance, access”), from ad (“to, up to”) + itus (“going, departure”). 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 "adit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

adda#84,956aera#84,962ayat#85,009warg#84,896

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list