caste

/kɑːst/

//kɑːst// noun

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

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

The verdict

“caste” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,934. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,934
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of the hereditary social classes and subclasses of South Asian societies or similar found historically in other cultures.

Corpus desk

Index EN-caste · caste · English

caste · rank #12,934 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,934
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH careless

Nearest frequency peer: careless (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “caste”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “caste” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

caste vs cat
60% similar
caste vs CST
0% similar
caste vs CTE
0% similar

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

Key facts for caste
PropertyValue
Headwordcaste
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɑːst/
Letters5
Frequency rank#12,934
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “caste”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).castelands 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 “careless” (#12,933), “cellar” (#12,935), “cerebral” (#12,936). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “caste” is #12,934. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around caste (IPA /kɑːst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,934 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for caste, with forms such as "acste", "caset", and "casste". 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, "cat", "CST", "CTE", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish casta (“lineage, breed, race”), which the OED derives from Portuguese casto (“chaste”), from Latin castus (“chaste"; "chastity”), Coromines (1987) argues instead for a hypothetical Gothic form *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts, “group,… The correct English form is caste, spelled C-A-S-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of the hereditary social classes and subclasses of South Asian societies or similar found historically in other cultures.
  2. 2
    A separate and fixed order or class of persons in society who chiefly associate with each other.
  3. 3
    The division of society into castes; the caste system.
  4. 4
    A class of polymorphous eusocial insects of a particular size and function within a colony.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Pakistan is a conservative, religious state. The Edhi Foundation is unusual in its ignoring of caste, creed, religion and sect. This strict stance has led to some criticism from religious groups.
  2. Ah! Can you give me all I've asked for — not now, nor a few months later, but when you begin to think of what you might have done if you had kept your own appointment and your caste here — when you begin to look upon me as a drag and a burden?

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish casta (“lineage, breed, race”), which the OED derives from Portuguese casto (“chaste”), from Latin castus (“chaste"; "chastity”), Coromines (1987) argues instead for a hypothetical Gothic form *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kasts, “group, collection of animals”), cognate with English cast, from Proto-Germanic *kastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ǵ-es-.

This word in other languages

casta(Español)caste(Français)Kaste(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acste
  • caset
  • casste
  • castte
  • catse
  • ccaste
  • csate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

acste2caset2casste1castte1catse2ccaste1csate2
Edit distance from "caste"

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 "caste"?
"caste" is spelled C-A-S-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɑːst/.
What does "caste" mean?
As a noun, "caste" means: Any of the hereditary social classes and subclasses of South Asian societies or similar found historically in other cultures.
What words are commonly confused with "caste"?
"caste" is commonly confused with "cat", "CST", "CTE". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "caste"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "caste" is /kɑːst/. 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 "caste"?
Borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish casta (“lineage, breed, race”), which the OED derives from Portuguese casto (“chaste”), from Latin castus (“chaste"; "chastity”), Coromines (1987) argues instead for a hypothetical Gothic form *𐌺𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃 (*kast... 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 "caste", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chant#12,938bumps#12,929colon#12,945binge#12,920

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Avery7 variantsElaine7 variantsagony7 variantsEuropa7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list