devour

/dɪˈvaʊə(ɹ)/

//dɪˈvaʊə(ɹ)// verb

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

"devour" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“devour” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,239. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,239
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.

Corpus desk

Index EN-devour · devour · English

devour · rank #23,239 · 8 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,239
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH desolate

Nearest frequency peer: desolate (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “devour”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “devour” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

devour vs dour
67% similar
devour vs devout
83% similar
devour vs devo
67% similar

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

Key facts for devour
PropertyValue
Headworddevour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪˈvaʊə(ɹ)/
Letters6
Frequency rank#23,239
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “devour”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).devourlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “desolate” (#23,238), “digger” (#23,240), “deregulation” (#23,237). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “devour” is #23,239. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around devour (IPA /dɪˈvaʊə(ɹ)/), averb. Corpus frequency is #23,239 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for devour, with forms such as "ddevour", "deovur", and "devoru". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "dour", "devout", "devo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English devouren, from Old French devorer (Modern French dévorer), from Latin dēvorō, from vorō. The correct English form is devour, spelled D-E-V-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.
  2. 2
    To rapidly destroy, engulf, or lay waste.
  3. 3
    To take in avidly with the intellect or with one's gaze.
  4. 4
    To absorb or engross the mind fully, especially in a destructive manner.
  5. 5
    Synonym of eat: to be very good at something; to slay.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how devour appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Once constituted, capital reproduces itself faster than output increases. The past devours the future.
  2. The fire was devouring the building.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English devouren, from Old French devorer (Modern French dévorer), from Latin dēvorō, from vorō.

This word in other languages

devorar(Español)dévorer(Français)verschlingen(Deutsch)devorar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddevour
  • deovur
  • devoru
  • devourr
  • devuor
  • devvour
  • dveour
  • edvour

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of devour - 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.

ddevour1deovur2devoru2devourr1devuor2devvour1dveour2edvour2
Edit distance from "devour"

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 "devour"?
"devour" is spelled D-E-V-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈvaʊə(ɹ)/.
What does "devour" mean?
As a verb, "devour" means: To eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.
What words are commonly confused with "devour"?
"devour" is commonly confused with "dour", "devout", "devo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "devour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "devour" is /dɪˈvaʊə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "devour"?
Inherited from Middle English devouren, from Old French devorer (Modern French dévorer), from Latin dēvorō, from vorō. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "devour", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

digger#23,240Dmitry#23,245Dorian#23,247doubly#23,248

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

darby8 variantscroft8 variantsDubois8 variantsFabian8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list