aways

adv

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

The verdict

“aways” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #46,322 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#46,322
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative form of a ways.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

aways vs AWS
0% similar
aways vs awry
60% similar
aways vs Aas
40% similar

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

Key facts for aways
PropertyValue
Headwordaways
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters5
Frequency rank#46,322
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “aways” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for aways is 5 letters long, classified as an adverb. Corpus data places it at rank #46,322 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Alternative form of a ways.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for aways, with forms such as "aawys", "awasy", and "awayss". 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, "AWS", "awry", "Aas", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is aways, spelled A-W-A-Y-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative form of a ways.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aawys,awasy,awayss,awayys,awways,awyas,waays

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aawys2awasy2awayss1awayys1awways1awyas2waays2
Edit distance from "aways"

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 "aways"?
"aways" is spelled A-W-A-Y-S.
What does "aways" mean?
As an adverb, "aways" means: Alternative form of a ways.
What words are commonly confused with "aways"?
"aways" is commonly confused with "AWS", "awry", "Aas". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "aways" come from?
"aways" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “aways”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-W-A-Y-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “AWS” - see the side-by-side comparison. aways vs AWS
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list