be used to

verb

"be-used-to" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“be used to” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be familiar with or accustomed to something or someone through repeated experience; to be acclimated to.

Corpus desk

Index EN-be-used-to · be used to · English

be used to · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" 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.

Key facts for be used to
PropertyValue
Headwordbe used to
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “be used to” in English

be used tofalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

be used to is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To be familiar with or accustomed to something or someone through repeated experience; to be acclimated to.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for be used to in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is be used to, spelled B-E- -U-S-E-D- -T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    To be familiar with or accustomed to something or someone through repeated experience; to be acclimated to.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I'm used to this climate.
  2. Over time, you will be used to being on the front line.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "be used to"?
"be used to" is spelled B-E- -U-S-E-D- -T-O.
What does "be used to" mean?
As a verb, "be used to" means: To be familiar with or accustomed to something or someone through repeated experience; to be acclimated to.
What language does "be used to" come from?
"be used to" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list