dill
/dɪl/
"dill" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dill” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,033 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #25,033
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known a...
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 | dill |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪl/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #25,033 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dill” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dill is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #25,033 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 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for dill, with forms such as "ddill", "dil", and "dlil". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DL", "dip", "DIY", 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 Middle English dile, from Old English dile (“dill, anise”); from Proto-Germanic *deliz, of uncertain, probably non-Indo-European origin, possibly a west European substrate. Cognate with Old Saxon dilli, Dutch dille, Swedish dill, German Dill. The correct English form is dill, spelled D-I-L-L.
Definition
- 1Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
- 2A cucumber pickled with dill flavoring.
Etymology
From Middle English dile, from Old English dile (“dill, anise”); from Proto-Germanic *deliz, of uncertain, probably non-Indo-European origin, possibly a west European substrate. Cognate with Old Saxon dilli, Dutch dille, Swedish dill, German Dill.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddill,dil,dlil,idll
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dill - 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
How do you spell "dill"?
What does "dill" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "dill"?
How do you pronounce "dill"?
What is the origin of the word "dill"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “dill”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “DL” - see the side-by-side comparison. dill vs DL
- 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.