claim

/kleɪm/

//kleɪm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“claim” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,181 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,181
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A demand of ownership made for something.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

claim vs clay
60% similar
claim vs clip
60% similar
claim vs clan
60% similar

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

Key facts for claim
PropertyValue
Headwordclaim
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kleɪm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,181
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “claim” 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). claim lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for claim is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kleɪm/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,181 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for claim, with forms such as "calim", "cclaim", and "claimm". 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, "clay", "clip", "clan", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English claimen, borrowed from Old French clamer (“to call, name, send for”), from Latin clāmō, clāmāre (“to call, cry out”), from Proto-Italic *klāmāō, from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to shout”), which is imitative. See also Lithuanian kalba… The correct English form is claim, spelled C-L-A-I-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A demand of ownership made for something.
  2. 2
    The thing claimed.
  3. 3
    The right or ground of demanding.
  4. 4
    A new statement of something one believes to be the truth, usually when the statement has yet to be verified or without valid evidence provided.
  5. 5
    A demand of ownership for previously unowned land.
  6. 6
    A legal demand for compensation or damages.

Etymology

From Middle English claimen, borrowed from Old French clamer (“to call, name, send for”), from Latin clāmō, clāmāre (“to call, cry out”), from Proto-Italic *klāmāō, from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to shout”), which is imitative. See also Lithuanian kalba (“language”), Old English hlōwan (“to low, make a noise like a cow”), Old High German halan (“to call”), Ancient Greek καλέω (kaléō, “to call, convoke”), κλέδον (klédon, “report, fame”), κέλαδος (kélados, “noise”), Middle Irish cailech (“cock”), Latin calō (“to call out, announce solemnly”), Sanskrit उषःकल (uṣaḥkala, “cock”, literally “dawn-calling”). Cognate with Spanish llamar and clamar.

This word in other languages

reclamación(Español)réclamation(Français)Anspruch(Deutsch)reivindicação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: calim,cclaim,claimm,clami,cliam,cllaim,lcaim

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

calim2cclaim1claimm1clami2cliam2cllaim1lcaim2
Edit distance from "claim"

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 "claim"?
"claim" is spelled C-L-A-I-M. The IPA pronunciation is /kleɪm/.
What does "claim" mean?
As a noun, "claim" means: A demand of ownership made for something.
What words are commonly confused with "claim"?
"claim" is commonly confused with "clay", "clip", "clan". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "claim"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "claim" is /kleɪm/. 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 "claim"?
From Middle English claimen, borrowed from Old French clamer (“to call, name, send for”), from Latin clāmō, clāmāre (“to call, cry out”), from Proto-Italic *klāmāō, from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to shout”), which is imitative. See also Lithua... 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.

Using “claim”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-L-A-I-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /kleɪm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “clay” - see the side-by-side comparison. claim vs clay
  • 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