authority
/ɔːˈθɒɹəti/
"authority" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“authority” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,625 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,625
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Power or right to make or enforce rules, give orders, or impose obligation; or a position having such power or right.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | authority |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɔːˈθɒɹəti/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #1,625 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “authority” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for authority is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɔːˈθɒɹəti/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,625 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for authority, with forms such as "atuhority", "auhtority", and "authhority". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "authorize", "authorise", 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 *h₂weg- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der. Proto-Italic *augeō Latin augeō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin auctor Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts … The correct English form is authority, spelled A-U-T-H-O-R-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1Power or right to make or enforce rules, give orders, or impose obligation; or a position having such power or right.
- 2Persons, regarded collectively, who occupy official positions of power; police or law enforcement.
- 3A reliable, definitive source of information on a subject.
- 4Status as a trustworthy source of information, reputation for mastery or expertise; or claim to such status or reputation.
- 5Official permission; authorisation to act in some capacity on behalf of a ruling entity.
- 6A government-owned agency that runs a revenue-generating activity for public benefit.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂weg- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der. Proto-Italic *augeō Latin augeō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin auctor Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin auctōritāsbor. Old French autoritébor. Middle English auctorite English authority From Middle English auctorite, autorite (“authority, book or quotation that settles an argument”), from Old French auctorité, from Latin stem of auctōritās (“invention, advice, opinion, influence, command”), from auctor (“master, leader, author”). For the presence of the h, compare the etymology of author.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: atuhority,auhtority,authhority,authoirty,authoritty,authorityy,authoriyt,authorrity,authortiy,authroity,autohrity,autthority,uathority
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of authority - 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
How do you spell "authority"?
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Using “authority”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-U-T-H-O-R-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɔːˈθɒɹəti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “authorize” - see the side-by-side comparison. authority vs authorize
- 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.