apple

/ˈæp.əl/

//ˈæp.əl// noun

"apple" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“apple” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,781. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,781
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-apple · apple · English

apple · rank #1,781 · 5 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,781
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alive

Nearest frequency peer: alive (-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 “apple”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “apple” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

apple vs axle
60% similar
apple vs appt
60% similar
apple vs apply
80% similar

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

Key facts for apple
PropertyValue
Headwordapple
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæp.əl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,781
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “apple”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “alive” (#1,780), “balance” (#1,782), “AD” (#1,779). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “apple” is #1,781. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around apple (IPA /ˈæp.əl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,781 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 19 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for apple, with forms such as "aple", "aplpe", and "appel". 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 also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "axle", "appt", "apply", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl Proto-Germanic *aplaz Proto-West Germanic *applu Old English æppel Middle English appel English apple The noun is derived from Middle English appel (“Malus domestica fruit or tree, apple; any type of fruit, nut, or… The correct English form is apple, spelled A-P-P-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  2. 2
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  3. 3
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  4. 4
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  5. 5
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  6. 6
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  7. 7
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  8. 8
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  9. 9
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  10. 10
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  11. 11
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  12. 12
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  13. 13
    A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
  14. 14
    A tree of the genus Malus; especially Malus domestica which is cultivated for its edible fruit; the apple tree.
  15. 15
    Synonym of applewood (“the wood of the apple tree”).
  16. 16
    A person.
  17. 17
    Synonym of CBer (“a CB radio enthusiast”).
  18. 18
    An assist.
  19. 19
    A Native American or redskinned person who acts or thinks like a white (Caucasian) person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. All apples eaten ſoone after yͭ they be gathered, are cold, hard to digeſt, and do make ill and corrupted bloud, but being wel kept vntill yͤ next winter, or the year folowing, eatẽ [eaten] after meales, they are right holeſome, & doe confyrme the ſtomacke, & make good digeſtion, ſpecially if they be roſted or baked, […]
  2. [T]hey [i.e., writers] aſſigne and lay to India, the countrey of the Aſpagores, ſo plentifull in vines, laurels, and box, and generally of all ſorts of apple trees and other fruitfull trees that grovv vvithin Greece.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl Proto-Germanic *aplaz Proto-West Germanic *applu Old English æppel Middle English appel English apple The noun is derived from Middle English appel (“Malus domestica fruit or tree, apple; any type of fruit, nut, or tuber; tree bearing fruit; (figurative) ball, sphere; (Christianity) forbidden fruit in Eden”), from Old English æppel (“apple; any type of fruit; (figurative) ball, sphere; eyeball”), from Proto-West Germanic *applu (“apple; any type of fruit”), from Proto-Germanic *aplaz (“apple; any type of fruit”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl, *h₂ébl̥ (“apple”). As regards noun sense 1.4 (“forbidden fruit”), the type of fruit eaten by Adam and Eve is not identified in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. It may have come to be identified with the apple because of the similarity between Latin mālum (“apple”) and malum (“evil; misery, torment; wrongdoing”). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates Cognate with Scots aipple (“apple”), North Frisian aapel, Oapel, ååpel (“apple”), Saterland Frisian Apel, Appel (“apple”), West Frisian apel, appel (“apple”), Alemannic German effél, epfel, epfil, öpfil (“apple”), Bavarian eipfele, epfl, Åpfe (“apple”), Cimbrian oupfal, öpfel, öpfl (“apple”), Dutch appel (“apple”), German Apfel (“apple”), German Low German Appel (“apple”), Limburgish Ape̩l, appel (“apple”), Luxembourgish Apel (“apple”), Mòcheno epfl (“apple”), Vilamovian epuł (“apple”), Yiddish עפּל (epl, “apple”), Danish æble (“apple”), Faroese epl, epli (“apple; potato”), Icelandic epli (“apple”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk eple (“apple”), Swedish äpple (“apple”), Crimean Gothic apel (“apple”), Irish úll (“apple”), Lithuanian óbuolỹs (“apple”), Russian я́блоко (jábloko, “apple”), Welsh afal (“apple”), possibly Ancient Greek ἄμπελος (ámpelos, “vine”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aple
  • aplpe
  • appel
  • applle
  • paple

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of apple - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aple1aplpe2appel2applle1paple2
Edit distance from "apple"

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 "apple"?
"apple" is spelled A-P-P-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæp.əl/.
What does "apple" mean?
As a noun, "apple" means: A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus.
What words are commonly confused with "apple"?
"apple" is commonly confused with "axle", "appt", "apply". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "apple"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "apple" is /ˈæp.əl/. 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 "apple"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl Proto-Germanic *aplaz Proto-West Germanic *applu Old English æppel Middle English appel English apple The noun is derived from Middle English appel (“Malus domestica fruit or tree, apple; any type of frui... 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 "apple", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list