cage

/keɪd͡ʒ/

//keɪd͡ʒ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cage” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,766. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,766
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cage · cage · English

cage · rank #5,766 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,766
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cabin

Nearest frequency peer: cabin (-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 “cage”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cage” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

cage vs CE
0% similar
cage vs CG
0% similar
cage vs can
50% similar

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

Key facts for cage
PropertyValue
Headwordcage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/keɪd͡ʒ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,766
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cage” 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).cagelands 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 “cabin” (#5,765), “chancellor” (#5,767), “breach” (#5,764). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around cage (IPA /keɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,766 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for cage, with forms such as "acge", "caeg", and "cagge". 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, "CE", "CG", "can", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cage, from Old French cage, from Latin cavea. Doublet of cadge and cavea and related to jail. The correct English form is cage, spelled C-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
  2. 2
    The passenger compartment of a lift.
  3. 3
    The goal.
  4. 4
    An automobile.
  5. 5
    Something that hinders freedom.
  6. 6
    A prison or prison cell.
  7. 7
    The area from which competitors throw a discus or hammer.
  8. 8
    An outer framework of timber, enclosing something within it.
  9. 9
    A skeleton frame to limit the motion of a loose piece, such as a ball valve.
  10. 10
    A wirework strainer, used in connection with pumps and pipes.
  11. 11
    The drum on which the rope is wound in a hoisting whim.
  12. 12
    The protective wire mask at the front of a helmet.
  13. 13
    A regular graph that has as few vertices as possible for its girth.
  14. 14
    In killer sudoku puzzles, an irregularly-shaped group of cells that must contain a set of unique digits adding up to a certain total, in addition to the usual constraints of sudoku.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We keep a bird in a cage.
  2. The tigers are in a cage to protect the public.

Etymology

From Middle English cage, from Old French cage, from Latin cavea. Doublet of cadge and cavea and related to jail.

This word in other languages

jaula(Español)cage(Français)Käfig(Deutsch)gaiola(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acge
  • caeg
  • cagge
  • ccage
  • cgae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

acge2caeg2cagge1ccage1cgae2
Edit distance from "cage"

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 "cage"?
"cage" is spelled C-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /keɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "cage" mean?
As a noun, "cage" means: An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
What words are commonly confused with "cage"?
"cage" is commonly confused with "CE", "CG", "can". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cage" is /keɪd͡ʒ/. 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 "cage"?
From Middle English cage, from Old French cage, from Latin cavea. Doublet of cadge and cavea and related to jail. 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 "cage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

bend#5,762Cuba#5,779disc#5,782keen#5,804

Similar misspelling depth

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

arrow5 variantspile5 variantsvisa5 variantsbrad5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "cage". Here's where to go from here.

  • "cage" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CE". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #5,766 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list