degree
/dɪˈɡɹiː/
"degree" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“degree” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,217. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #1,217
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of study, now especially an award bestowed by a university/college, as a certification of academic achievement. (In the United States, can includ...
Corpus desk
Index EN-degree · degree · English
degree · rank #1,217 · 8 variants · 5 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #1,217
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH contract
Nearest frequency peer: contract (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “degree”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- battle
battle
98,787 corpus weight
- brain
brain
98,786 corpus weight
- contract
contract
98,785 corpus weight
- degree
degree
98,784 corpus weight
- features
features
98,782 corpus weight
- finished
finished
98,781 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “degree” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | degree |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪˈɡɹiː/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #1,217 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “degree” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around degree (IPA /dɪˈɡɹiː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,217 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 16 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for degree, with forms such as "ddegree", "degere", and "deggree". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Derek", "degrees", "decree", 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 degre, borrowed from Old French degré (French: degré), itself from Latin gradus, with the prefix de-. The correct English form is degree, spelled D-E-G-R-E-E.
Definition
- 1A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of study, now especially an award bestowed by a university/college, as a certification of academic achievement. (In the United States, can include secondary schools.)
- 2A unit of measurement of angle equal to ¹⁄₃₆₀ of a circle's circumference.
- 3A unit of measurement of temperature on any of several scales, such as Celsius or Fahrenheit.
- 4The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial.
- 5The dimensionality of a field extension.
- 6The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.
- 7The number of logical connectives in a formula.
- 8The curvature of a circular arc, expressed as the angle subtended by a fixed length of arc or chord.
- 9A unit of measurement of latitude and longitude which together identify a location on the Earth's surface.
- 10Any of the stages (like positive, comparative, superlative, elative) in the comparison of an adjective or an adverb.
- 11A step on a set of stairs; the rung of a ladder.
- 12An individual step, or stage, in any process or scale of values.
- 13A stage of rank or privilege; social standing.
- 14A ‘step’ in genealogical descent.
- 15One's relative state or experience; way, manner.
- 16The amount that an entity possesses a certain property; relative intensity, extent.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how degree appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
She has two bachelor's degrees and is studying towards a master's degree.
A right angle is a ninety-degree angle.
Etymology
From Middle English degre, borrowed from Old French degré (French: degré), itself from Latin gradus, with the prefix de-.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ddegree
- degere
- deggree
- degre
- degrree
- dergee
- dgeree
- edgree
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of degree - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "degree", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "degree". Here's where to go from here.
- "degree" maps to 5 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Derek". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #1,217 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.