agate
/ˈæɡ.ɪt/
"agate" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“agate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,422 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,422
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A semitransparent, uncrystallized silicate mineral and semiprecious stone, presenting various tints in the same specimen, with colors delicately arranged and often curved in parallel alternating da...
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 | agate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæɡ.ɪt/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #36,422 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “agate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for agate is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæɡ.ɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,422 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 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 agate, with forms such as "aagte", "agaet", and "agatte". 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, "age", "ate", "ante", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French agathe, from Latin achatēs, from Ancient Greek ἀχάτης (akhátēs, “agate”). The correct English form is agate, spelled A-G-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1A semitransparent, uncrystallized silicate mineral and semiprecious stone, presenting various tints in the same specimen, with colors delicately arranged and often curved in parallel alternating dark and light stripes or bands, or blended in clouds; various authorities call it a variety of chalcedony, a variety of quartz, or a combination of the two.
- 2The size of type between pearl and nonpareil, standardized as 5+¹⁄₂-point.
- 3One fourteenth of an inch.
- 4A diminutive person; so called in allusion to the small figures cut in agate for rings and seals.
- 5A tool used by gold-wire drawers, bookbinders, etc.;—so called from the agate fixed in it for burnishing.
- 6A marble made from agate.
- 7A testicle.
Etymology
From Middle French agathe, from Latin achatēs, from Ancient Greek ἀχάτης (akhátēs, “agate”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aagte,agaet,agatte,aggate,agtae,gaate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of agate - 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “agate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-G-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæɡ.ɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “age” - see the side-by-side comparison. agate vs age
- 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.