does
/dəz/
"does" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“does” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #177) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #177
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - third-person singular simple present indicative of do
Corpus desk
Index EN-does · does · English
does · rank #177 · 4 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #177
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-LOW 4 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 26,416
- PHOTO-FINISH another
Nearest frequency peer: another (-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 neighbourhood for “does”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- old
old
99,827 corpus weight
- since
since
99,826 corpus weight
- another
another
99,825 corpus weight
- does
does
99,824 corpus weight
- own
own
99,823 corpus weight
- things
things
99,822 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “does” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | does |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dəz/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #177 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “does” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for does is neighbouring look-alikes ("DS", "due", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /dəz/. Frequency #177 among 26,416 “D” headwords. Gloss: "third-person singular simple present indicative of do".
Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for does, with forms such as "ddoes", "deos", and "doess". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DS", "due", "dog", 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 dos, variant of doth, doþ, equivalent to do + -s. For the shortened vowel compare says. The correct English form is does, spelled D-O-E-S.
Definition
- 1third-person singular simple present indicative of do
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how does appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Likes her tea, my mom does.
Etymology
From Middle English dos, variant of doth, doþ, equivalent to do + -s. For the shortened vowel compare says.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ddoes
- deos
- doess
- odes
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of does - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "does"?
What does "does" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "does"?
How do you pronounce "does"?
What is the origin of the word "does"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "does", not the corpus desk frequency band.
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.