dew

/d͡ʒuː/

//d͡ʒuː// noun

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

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

The verdict

“dew” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,511 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#14,511
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

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

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

Key facts for dew
PropertyValue
Headworddew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/d͡ʒuː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#14,511
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dew” 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). dew 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 dew is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /d͡ʒuː/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,511 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

dew doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "do", "Dr", "di", 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 dew, from Old English dēaw (“dew”), from Proto-West Germanic *dauw, from Proto-Germanic *dawwaz, *dawwą (“dew, moisture”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, haze”). Cognate with German Tau, Dutch dauw and Afrikaans dou. Doublet … The correct English form is dew, spelled D-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.
  2. 2
    Moisture in the air that settles on plants, etc in the morning or evening, resulting in drops.
  3. 3
    An instance of such moisture settling on plants, etc.
  4. 4
    Anything that falls lightly and in a refreshing manner.
  5. 5
    An emblem of morning, or fresh vigour.

Etymology

From Middle English dew, from Old English dēaw (“dew”), from Proto-West Germanic *dauw, from Proto-Germanic *dawwaz, *dawwą (“dew, moisture”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, haze”). Cognate with German Tau, Dutch dauw and Afrikaans dou. Doublet of dag.

This word in other languages

rocío(Español)rosée(Français)Tau(Deutsch)orvalho(Português)

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 "dew"?
"dew" is spelled D-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒuː/.
What does "dew" mean?
As a noun, "dew" means: Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.
What words are commonly confused with "dew"?
"dew" is commonly confused with "do", "Dr", "di". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dew" is /d͡ʒuː/. 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 "dew"?
From Middle English dew, from Old English dēaw (“dew”), from Proto-West Germanic *dauw, from Proto-Germanic *dawwaz, *dawwą (“dew, moisture”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, haze”). Cognate with German Tau, Dutch dauw and Afrikaans dou... 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 “dew”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is D-E-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /d͡ʒuː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “do” - see the side-by-side comparison. dew 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