ampersand
/ˈæm.pə(ɹ).sænd/
"ampersand" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ampersand” is an uncommon English word, ranked #79,248 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #79,248
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The symbol "&".
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ampersand |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæm.pə(ɹ).sænd/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #79,248 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ampersand” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ampersand is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæm.pə(ɹ).sænd/. Corpus data places it at rank #79,248 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The symbol "&".".
ampersand doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: A mondegreen of and per se and, ⟨&⟩ being read as “and”. Letters used by themselves were formerly mentioned according to this pattern, as in “O per se O” for the particle O or “I per se I” for the pronoun I. “And per se and” thus meant ⟨&⟩ by itself, as opp… The correct English form is ampersand, spelled A-M-P-E-R-S-A-N-D.
Definition
- 1The symbol "&".
Etymology
A mondegreen of and per se and, ⟨&⟩ being read as “and”. Letters used by themselves were formerly mentioned according to this pattern, as in “O per se O” for the particle O or “I per se I” for the pronoun I. “And per se and” thus meant ⟨&⟩ by itself, as opposed to forms such as &c. The specific form ampersand is first attested in 1795, originally as a mocking pronunciation spelling, but this name for the symbol is attested since 1777 (as ampuse and), when it is already called common (see quotations).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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 “ampersand”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-M-P-E-R-S-A-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæm.pə(ɹ).sænd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.