at the time
"at-the-time" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“at the time” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - At the time referred to (by the present discussion), which is in the past for many discussions but is in the future for others.
Corpus desk
Index EN-at-the-time · at the time · English
at the time · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | at the time |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “at the time” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
at the time is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "At the time referred to (by the present discussion), which is in the past for many discussions but is in the future for others.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for at the time, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is at the time, spelled A-T- -T-H-E- -T-I-M-E.
Definition
- 1At the time referred to (by the present discussion), which is in the past for many discussions but is in the future for others.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how at the time appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Near-synonym: at that time (often synonymous depending on the timeline of recounting)
You have to keep in mind that there were no computers at the time.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.