derail
/ˌdəˈɹeɪ.əl/
"derail" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“derail” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,059 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #26,059
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Synonym of derailer: A device placed on railway tracks in order to cause a train to derail.
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 | derail |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌdəˈɹeɪ.əl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #26,059 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “derail” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for derail is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌdəˈɹeɪ.əl/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,059 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 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for derail, with forms such as "dderail", "dearil", and "deraill". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "devil", "drain", "Desai", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French dérailler (“to go off the rails”). Analyzable as de- + rail. The correct English form is derail, spelled D-E-R-A-I-L.
Definition
- 1Synonym of derailer: A device placed on railway tracks in order to cause a train to derail.
- 2An instance of diverting a conversation or debate from its original topic.
Etymology
From French dérailler (“to go off the rails”). Analyzable as de- + rail.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dderail,dearil,deraill,derali,derial,derrail,dreail,edrail
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of derail - 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 “derail”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-R-A-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌdəˈɹeɪ.əl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “devil” - see the side-by-side comparison. derail vs devil
- 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.