approaching
/əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃɪŋ/
"approaching" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“approaching” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,387 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #5,387
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That approaches or approach.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | approaching |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #5,387 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “approaching” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for approaching is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,387 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "That approaches or approach.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for approaching, with forms such as "apporaching", "appraoching", and "approacching". 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, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: By surface analysis, approach + -ing. The correct English form is approaching, spelled A-P-P-R-O-A-C-H-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1That approaches or approach.
Etymology
By surface analysis, approach + -ing.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: apporaching,appraoching,approacching,approachhing,approachign,approachingg,approachinng,approachnig,approacihng,approahcing,approcahing,apprroaching,aproaching,aprpoaching,paproaching
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of approaching - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “approaching”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-P-P-R-O-A-C-H-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃɪŋ/ (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.