answering
/ˈɑːn.sə.ɹɪŋ/
"answering" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“answering” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,326 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #6,326
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - present participle and gerund of answer
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | answering |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɑːn.sə.ɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #6,326 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “answering” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for answering is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɑːn.sə.ɹɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,326 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "present participle and gerund of answer".
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for answering, with forms such as "annswering", "ansewring", and "ansswering". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English answerynge; equivalent to answer + -ing. The correct English form is answering, spelled A-N-S-W-E-R-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1present participle and gerund of answer
Etymology
From Middle English answerynge; equivalent to answer + -ing.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: annswering,ansewring,ansswering,answeirng,answerign,answeringg,answerinng,answernig,answerring,answreing,answwering,anwsering,asnwering,naswering
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of answering - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “answering”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-N-S-W-E-R-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɑːn.sə.ɹɪŋ/ (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.