dill

/dɪl/

//dɪl// noun

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

"dill" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dill” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #25,033) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#25,033
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 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...

Corpus desk

Index EN-dill · dill · English

dill · rank #25,033 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,033
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH derailed

Nearest frequency peer: derailed (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “dill”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “dill” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

dill vs DL
0% similar
dill vs dip
50% similar
dill vs DIY
0% similar

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

Key facts for dill
PropertyValue
Headworddill
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#25,033
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “dill”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).dilllands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “derailed” (#25,032), “Dimitri” (#25,034), “discontinue” (#25,036). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dill” is #25,033. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for dill is neighbouring look-alikes ("DL", "dip", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /dɪl/. Frequency #25,033 among 3,470 “D” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

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

  1. 1
    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 as dillseed.
  2. 2
    A cucumber pickled with dill flavoring.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The life of one plant would be affected by another. Rue was definitely hostile to basil, rosemary to hyssop, but coriander, dill and chervil lived on the friendliest of terms[.]

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

anetdillseedPeucedanum graveolensdill pickle

This word in other languages

eneldo(Español)aneth(Français)Dill(Deutsch)

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.

ddill1dil1dlil2idll2
Edit distance from "dill"

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"?
"dill" is spelled D-I-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪl/.
What does "dill" mean?
As a noun, "dill" means: 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...
What words are commonly confused with "dill"?
"dill" is commonly confused with "DL", "dip", "DIY". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dill"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dill" is /dɪl/. 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 "dill"?
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. 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 "dill", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Dahl#25,028econ#25,045bree#24,998bora#24,995

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list