ago

/əˈɡəʊ/

//əˈɡəʊ// postp

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

"ago" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ago” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #365) as a postp. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#365
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Before now, before the present time

Corpus desk

Index EN-ago · ago · English

ago · rank #365 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #365
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH young

Nearest frequency peer: young (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “ago”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “ago” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

ago vs as
33% similar
ago vs at
33% similar
ago vs an
33% similar

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

Key facts for ago
PropertyValue
Headwordago
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPostp
IPA/əˈɡəʊ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#365
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “ago”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “young” (#364), “others” (#366), “video” (#363). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “ago” is #365. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ago is neighbouring look-alikes ("as", "at", …), not just typos; it is apostp pronounced /əˈɡəʊ/. Frequency #365 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Gloss: "Before now, before the present time".

Zero misspellings are on record for ago in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "as", "at", "an", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *gāną Proto-West Germanic *gān Proto-West Germanic *uʀgān Old English āgān Middle English ago… The correct English form is ago, spelled A-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Before now, before the present time

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I got married ten years ago.
  2. When they first met in 2000, my dad told my mom how he had gotten the money. The story begins 20 years ago.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *gāną Proto-West Germanic *gān Proto-West Germanic *uʀgān Old English āgān Middle English agon English ago From Middle English ago, agon (“passed”), past participle of agon (“to depart, escape, pass”), from Old English āgān (“to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”), *gāną (“to go”), equivalent to a- + gone, and by surface analysis, a- + go. Cognate with German ergehen (“to come to pass, fare, go forth”). Compare also Old Saxon āgangan (“to go or pass by”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (usgaggan, “to go forth”).

This word in other languages

hace(Español)il y a(Français)vor(Deutsch)há(Português)

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 "ago"?
"ago" is spelled A-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈɡəʊ/.
What does "ago" mean?
As a postp, "ago" means: Before now, before the present time
What words are commonly confused with "ago"?
"ago" is commonly confused with "as", "at", "an". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ago"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ago" is /əˈɡəʊ/. 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 "ago"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *gāną Proto-West Germanic *gān Proto-West Germanic *uʀgān Old English āgān Middle E... 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 "ago", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

guy#387pay#390per#339car#334

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list