be used to

verb

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

The verdict

“be used to” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To be familiar with or accustomed to something or someone through repeated experience; to be acclimated to.

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

Where “be used to” sits in English frequency

be used to falls 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for be used to is 10 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "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.

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.

Using “be used to”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is B-E- -U-S-E-D- -T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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