away

/əˈweɪ/

//əˈweɪ// adv

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

"away" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“away” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #214. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#214
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - From a place, hence.

Corpus desk

Index EN-away · away · English

away · rank #214 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #214
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH someone

Nearest frequency peer: someone (-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 “away”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “away” 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).

away vs ay
50% similar
away vs awe
50% similar
away vs aww
50% similar

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

Key facts for away
PropertyValue
Headwordaway
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/əˈweɪ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#214
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “away”

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).awaylands 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 “someone” (#213), “left” (#215), “second” (#212). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “away” is #214. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around away (IPA /əˈweɪ/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #214 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for away, with forms such as "aawy", "awayy", and "awway". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ay", "awe", "aww", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English away, awey, awei, oway, o wey, on way, from Old English āweġ, onweġ (“away”), originally on weġ (“on one's way; onward; on”), equivalent to a- (“on”) + way. Cognate with Scots awa, away (“away”), Old Frisian aweg, awei (“away”), Saterlan… The correct English form is away, spelled A-W-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    From a place, hence.
  2. 2
    Aside; off; in another direction.
  3. 3
    Aside, so as to discard something.
  4. 4
    At a stated distance in time or space.
  5. 5
    In or to something's usual or proper storage place.
  6. 6
    In or to a secure or out-of-the-way place.
  7. 7
    From a state or condition of being; out of existence.
  8. 8
    So as to remove or use up something.
  9. 9
    Come away; go away; take away.
  10. 10
    On; in continuance; without intermission or delay.
  11. 11
    Without restraint.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He went away on vacation.
  2. The departure was not unduly prolonged.[…]Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments[…]; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.

Etymology

From Middle English away, awey, awei, oway, o wey, on way, from Old English āweġ, onweġ (“away”), originally on weġ (“on one's way; onward; on”), equivalent to a- (“on”) + way. Cognate with Scots awa, away (“away”), Old Frisian aweg, awei (“away”), Saterland Frisian wäch, wääge (“away”), Dutch weg (“away”), German weg (“away”), Danish væk (“away”), Swedish i väg (“away; off; along”).

Synonyms

at bayoffoff-ab-apo-de-out-

This word in other languages

fuera(Español)loin(Français)fort(Deutsch)embora(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aawy
  • awayy
  • awway
  • awya
  • waay

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aawy2awayy1awway1awya2waay2
Edit distance from "away"

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 "away"?
"away" is spelled A-W-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈweɪ/.
What does "away" mean?
As an adverb, "away" means: From a place, hence.
What words are commonly confused with "away"?
"away" is commonly confused with "ay", "awe", "aww". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "away"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "away" is /əˈweɪ/. 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 "away"?
From Middle English away, awey, awei, oway, o wey, on way, from Old English āweġ, onweġ (“away”), originally on weġ (“on one's way; onward; on”), equivalent to a- (“on”) + way. Cognate with Scots awa, away (“away”), Old Frisian aweg, awei (“away”)... 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 "away", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

left#215city#217free#211days#218

Similar misspelling depth

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

name5 variantskeep5 variantsteam5 variantssure5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list