customs

/ˈkʌs.təmz/

//ˈkʌs.təmz// noun

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

"customs" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“customs” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,208. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,208
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The duties or taxes imposed on imported or exported goods.

Corpus desk

Index EN-customs · customs · English

customs · rank #5,208 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,208
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cried

Nearest frequency peer: cried (-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 “customs”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “customs” 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).

customs vs custom
86% similar
customs vs custody
71% similar
customs vs customer
75% similar

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

Key facts for customs
PropertyValue
Headwordcustoms
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʌs.təmz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,208
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “customs”

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).customslands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “cried” (#5,207), “dealer” (#5,209), “corn” (#5,206). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “customs” is #5,208. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around customs (IPA /ˈkʌs.təmz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,208 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for customs, with forms such as "ccustoms", "csutoms", and "cusotms". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "custom", "custody", "customer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Plural of custom. Perhaps influenced by or taken as a corruption of customhouse, from Middle English custome hous. The correct English form is customs, spelled C-U-S-T-O-M-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The duties or taxes imposed on imported or exported goods.
  2. 2
    The government department or agency that is authorised to collect the taxes imposed on imported goods.
  3. 3
    The process of going through customs checks at a border checkpoint.
  4. 4
    The location at a border checkpoint where customs checks are carried out.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Customs of £200 were due on all the wine we took back from France.
  2. Customs stopped us in the airport for an inspection.

Etymology

Plural of custom. Perhaps influenced by or taken as a corruption of customhouse, from Middle English custome hous.

This word in other languages

aduana(Español)douane(Français)Zoll(Deutsch)alfândega(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccustoms
  • csutoms
  • cusotms
  • cusstoms
  • custmos
  • customms
  • customss
  • custosm
  • custtoms
  • cutsoms
  • ucstoms

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of customs - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccustoms1csutoms2cusotms2cusstoms1custmos2customms1customss1custosm2
Edit distance from "customs"

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 "customs"?
"customs" is spelled C-U-S-T-O-M-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌs.təmz/.
What does "customs" mean?
As a noun, "customs" means: The duties or taxes imposed on imported or exported goods.
What words are commonly confused with "customs"?
"customs" is commonly confused with "custom", "custody", "customer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "customs"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "customs" is /ˈkʌs.təmz/. 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 "customs"?
Plural of custom. Perhaps influenced by or taken as a corruption of customhouse, from Middle English custome hous. 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 "customs", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

destiny#5,211distant#5,212colored#5,202emotion#5,215

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

filming11 variantsGlasgow11 variantsinsight11 variantsbacteria11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list