basis
/ˈbeɪ.sɪs/
"basis" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“basis” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,626. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #1,626
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A physical base or foundation.
Corpus desk
Index EN-basis · basis · English
basis · rank #1,626 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #1,626
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH authority
Nearest frequency peer: authority (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “basis”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- animal
animal
98,378 corpus weight
- apply
apply
98,377 corpus weight
- authority
authority
98,376 corpus weight
- basis
basis
98,375 corpus weight
- becoming
becoming
98,374 corpus weight
- Chris
Chris
98,373 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “basis” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | basis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #1,626 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “basis” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around basis (IPA /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,626 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for basis, with forms such as "absis", "baiss", and "basiss". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bis", "boss", "bass", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷémtis, derived from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (whence also come). Doublet of base. The correct English form is basis, spelled B-A-S-I-S.
Definition
- 1A physical base or foundation.
- 2A starting point, base or foundation for an argument or hypothesis.
- 3An underlying condition or circumstance.
- 4A regular frequency.
- 5The difference between the cash price a dealer pays to a farmer for his produce and an agreed reference price, which is usually the futures price at which the given crop is trading at a commodity exchange.
- 6In a vector space, a linearly independent set of vectors spanning the whole vector space.
- 7Amount paid for an investment, including commissions and other expenses.
- 8A collection of subsets ("basis elements") of a set, such that this collection covers the set, and for any two basis elements which both contain an element of the set, there is a third basis element contained in the intersection of the first two, which also contains that element.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how basis appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
1695, William Congreve, To the King, on the taking of Namur, 1810, Samuel Johnson, Alexander Chalmers (biographies), The Works of the English Poets from Chaucer to Cowper, Volume 10, page 271, Beholding rocks from their firm basis rent; Mountain on mountain thrown, With threatening hurl, that shook th' aerial firmament!
We see here the ground-plan of masses of houses, with their upper walls of fire-baked brick on a basis of stone.
Etymology
From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷémtis, derived from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (whence also come). Doublet of base.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- absis
- baiss
- basiss
- bassi
- bassis
- bbasis
- bsais
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of basis - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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.
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 September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "basis", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "basis". Here's where to go from here.
- "basis" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "bis". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #1,626 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.