debit
/ˈdɛb.ɪt/
"debit" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“debit” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,573 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,573
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In bookkeeping, an entry in the left hand column of an account.
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 | debit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɛb.ɪt/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #12,573 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “debit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for debit is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɛb.ɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,573 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 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 debit, with forms such as "dbeit", "ddebit", and "debbit". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DEI", "dit", "debt", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French debet, from Latin debitum (“what is owed, a debt”), neuter of debitus, past participle of debere (“to owe”); Doublet of debt. The correct English form is debit, spelled D-E-B-I-T.
Definition
- 1In bookkeeping, an entry in the left hand column of an account.
- 2A sum of money taken out of a bank account. Thus called, because in bank's bookkeeping a cash withdrawal diminishes the amount of money held on the account, i.e. bank's debt to the customer.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French debet, from Latin debitum (“what is owed, a debt”), neuter of debitus, past participle of debere (“to owe”); Doublet of debt.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dbeit,ddebit,debbit,debitt,debti,deibt,edbit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of debit - 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.
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 “debit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-B-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɛb.ɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “DEI” - see the side-by-side comparison. debit vs DEI
- 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.