apostrophe

/əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/

//əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi// noun

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

"apostrophe" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“apostrophe” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,728. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,728
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-apostrophe · apostrophe · English

apostrophe · rank #38,728 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,728
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH appellation

Nearest frequency peer: appellation (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “apostrophe”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “apostrophe” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for apostrophe
PropertyValue
Headwordapostrophe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#38,728
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “apostrophe”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).apostrophelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “appellation” (#38,729), “anointing” (#38,726), “appendage” (#38,730). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “apostrophe” is #38,728. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around apostrophe (IPA /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,728 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for apostrophe, with forms such as "aopstrophe", "aposrtophe", and "aposstrophe". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”). The correct English form is apostrophe, spelled A-P-O-S-T-R-O-P-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Since its inception the apostrophe has been a controversial piece of punctuation.

Etymology

From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”).

This word in other languages

apóstrofo(Español)apostrophe(Français)Apostroph(Deutsch)apóstrofo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aopstrophe
  • aposrtophe
  • aposstrophe
  • apostorphe
  • apostrohpe
  • apostropeh
  • apostrophhe
  • apostropphe
  • apostrpohe
  • apostrrophe
  • aposttrophe
  • apotsrophe
  • appostrophe
  • apsotrophe
  • paostrophe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of apostrophe - 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.

aopstrophe2aposrtophe2aposstrophe1apostorphe2apostrohpe2apostropeh2apostrophhe1apostropphe1
Edit distance from "apostrophe"

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 "apostrophe"?
"apostrophe" is spelled A-P-O-S-T-R-O-P-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/.
What does "apostrophe" mean?
As a noun, "apostrophe" means: The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.
What are common misspellings of "apostrophe"?
Common misspellings include "aopstrophe", "aposrtophe", "aposstrophe", "apostorphe", "apostrohpe". The correct spelling is "apostrophe".
How do you pronounce "apostrophe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "apostrophe" is /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/. 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 "apostrophe"?
From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”). 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 "apostrophe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

backstreet#38,740aggregator#38,712banishment#38,745accentuate#38,704

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

aggravation15 variantsbridegroom15 variantscondensate15 variantscyberpunk15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list