aid

/eɪd/

//eɪd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“aid” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,808) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,808
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Help; assistance; succor, relief.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aid · aid · English

aid · rank #1,808 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,808
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH wake

Nearest frequency peer: wake (-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 “aid”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “aid” 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).

aid vs as
33% similar
aid vs at
33% similar
aid vs an
33% similar

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

Key facts for aid
PropertyValue
Headwordaid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/eɪd/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,808
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “aid”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “wake” (#1,807), “beauty” (#1,809), “volume” (#1,806). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aid” is #1,808. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for aid is neighbouring look-alikes ("as", "at", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /eɪd/. Frequency #1,808 among 3,931 “A” headwords. 8 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

aid doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "as", "at", "an", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English aide, eide, ayde, from Old French eide, aide, from aidier, from Latin adiūtō, adiūtāre (“to assist, help”). Cognates include Spanish ayuda, Portuguese ajuda and Italian aiuto. The correct English form is aid, spelled A-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Help; assistance; succor, relief.
  2. 2
    A helper; an assistant.
  3. 3
    Something which helps; a material source of help.
  4. 4
    An historical subsidy granted to the crown by Parliament for an extraordinary purpose, such as a war effort.
  5. 5
    An exchequer loan.
  6. 6
    A pecuniary tribute paid by a vassal to his feudal lord on special occasions.
  7. 7
    Alternative form of aide (“an aide-de-camp”).
  8. 8
    The rider's use of hands, legs, voice, etc. to control the horse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He came to my aid when I was foundering.
  2. An unconstitutional method of obtaining aid.

Etymology

From Middle English aide, eide, ayde, from Old French eide, aide, from aidier, from Latin adiūtō, adiūtāre (“to assist, help”). Cognates include Spanish ayuda, Portuguese ajuda and Italian aiuto.

This word in other languages

ayuda(Español)aide(Français)Hilfe(Deutsch)ajuda(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 "aid"?
"aid" is spelled A-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /eɪd/.
What does "aid" mean?
As a noun, "aid" means: Help; assistance; succor, relief.
What words are commonly confused with "aid"?
"aid" 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 "aid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aid" is /eɪd/. 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 "aid"?
From Middle English aide, eide, ayde, from Old French eide, aide, from aidier, from Latin adiūtō, adiūtāre (“to assist, help”). Cognates include Spanish ayuda, Portuguese ajuda and Italian aiuto. 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 "aid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

net#1,799map#1,798fix#1,826fly#1,827

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list