dance
/dɑːns/
"dance" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dance” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,246 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,246
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dance |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɑːns/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #1,246 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dance” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dance is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɑːns/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,246 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 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for dance, with forms such as "adnce", "dacne", and "dancce". 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, "DNC", "done", "date", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dauncen, from Anglo-Norman dauncer, from Vulgar Latin *dantiāre, of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English sealtian, and partially displaced Old English hlēapan (“to leap, dance, run”) (whence modern leap). Doublet of danza. The correct English form is dance, spelled D-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction.
- 2A social gathering where dancing is the main activity.
- 3The art, profession, and study of dancing.
- 4Ellipsis of electronic dance music.
- 5A piece of music with a particular dance rhythm.
- 6A battle of wits, especially one commonly fought between two rivals.
- 7Any strenuous or difficult movement, action, or task.
- 8A repetitive movement used in communication between worker honey bees.
Etymology
From Middle English dauncen, from Anglo-Norman dauncer, from Vulgar Latin *dantiāre, of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English sealtian, and partially displaced Old English hlēapan (“to leap, dance, run”) (whence modern leap). Doublet of danza.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: adnce,dacne,dancce,danec,dannce,ddance,dence,dnace
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dance - 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.
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
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Using “dance”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɑːns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “DNC” - see the side-by-side comparison. dance vs DNC
- 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.