close by
"close-by" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“close by” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a preposition - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Close, near, nearby: in proximity (to).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | close by |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Preposition |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “close by” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for close by is 8 letters long, classified as a preposition. 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: "Close, near, nearby: in proximity (to).".
close by doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is close by, spelled C-L-O-S-E- -B-Y.
Definition
- 1Close, near, nearby: in proximity (to).
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
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Using “close by”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-O-S-E- -B-Y - 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.