dep

noun

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

"dep" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dep” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #31,132 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#31,132
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Clipping of department.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

dep vs do
33% similar
dep vs Dr
0% similar
dep vs di
33% similar

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

Key facts for dep
PropertyValue
Headworddep
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters3
Frequency rank#31,132
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dep” 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). dep 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 dep is 3 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #31,132 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Clipping of department.".

dep doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "do", "Dr", "di", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of department, originally slang from Imperial College, first attested c. 1930. The correct English form is dep, spelled D-E-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Clipping of department.

Etymology

Clipping of department, originally slang from Imperial College, first attested c. 1930.

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 "dep"?
"dep" is spelled D-E-P.
What does "dep" mean?
As a noun, "dep" means: Clipping of department.
What words are commonly confused with "dep"?
"dep" is commonly confused with "do", "Dr", "di". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "dep"?
Clipping of department, originally slang from Imperial College, first attested c. 1930. 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 “dep”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is D-E-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “do” - see the side-by-side comparison. dep vs do
  • 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