comedy

/ˈkɒmɪdi/

//ˈkɒmɪdi// noun

"comedy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“comedy” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,934 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,934
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - a choric song of celebration or revel, especially in Ancient Greece

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

comedy vs comes
67% similar
comedy vs Corey
50% similar
comedy vs comet
67% similar

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

Key facts for comedy
PropertyValue
Headwordcomedy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒmɪdi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,934
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “comedy” 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). comedy 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 comedy is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒmɪdi/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,934 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for comedy, with forms such as "ccomedy", "cmoedy", and "coemdy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "comes", "Corey", "comet", 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 comedie, from Middle French comedie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδία (kōmōidía), from κῶμος (kômos, “revel, carousing”) + either ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”) or ἀοιδός (aoidós, “singer, bard”), both from ἀείδω (aeídō, “to sing”). D… The correct English form is comedy, spelled C-O-M-E-D-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    a choric song of celebration or revel, especially in Ancient Greece
  2. 2
    a light, amusing play with a happy ending
  3. 3
    a narrative poem with an agreeable ending (e.g., The Divine Comedy)
  4. 4
    a dramatic work that is light and humorous or satirical in tone
  5. 5
    the genre of such works
  6. 6
    entertainment composed of jokes, satire, or humorous performance
  7. 7
    the art of composing comedy
  8. 8
    a humorous event

Etymology

From Middle English comedie, from Middle French comedie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδία (kōmōidía), from κῶμος (kômos, “revel, carousing”) + either ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”) or ἀοιδός (aoidós, “singer, bard”), both from ἀείδω (aeídō, “to sing”). Doublet of commedia.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccomedy,cmoedy,coemdy,comdey,comeddy,comedyy,comeyd,commedy,ocmedy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccomedy1cmoedy2coemdy2comdey2comeddy1comedyy1comeyd2commedy1
Edit distance from "comedy"

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 "comedy"?
"comedy" is spelled C-O-M-E-D-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒmɪdi/.
What does "comedy" mean?
As a noun, "comedy" means: a choric song of celebration or revel, especially in Ancient Greece
What words are commonly confused with "comedy"?
"comedy" is commonly confused with "comes", "Corey", "comet". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "comedy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "comedy" is /ˈkɒmɪdi/. 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 "comedy"?
From Middle English comedie, from Middle French comedie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδία (kōmōidía), from κῶμος (kômos, “revel, carousing”) + either ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”) or ἀοιδός (aoidós, “singer, bard”), both from ἀείδω (aeídō, “to... 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 “comedy”

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

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