done

/dʌn/

//dʌn// adj

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

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

The verdict

“done” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #236) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#236
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having completed or finished an activity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-done · done · English

done · rank #236 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #236
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH thought

Nearest frequency peer: thought (-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 “done”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “done” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

done vs due
50% similar
done vs dot
50% similar
done vs dye
50% similar

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

Key facts for done
PropertyValue
Headworddone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/dʌn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#236
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “done” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).donelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “thought” (#235), “however” (#237), “set” (#234). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for done is neighbouring look-alikes ("due", "dot", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /dʌn/. Frequency #236 among 3,470 “D” headwords. 8 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for done, with forms such as "ddone", "dnoe", and "doen". 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, "due", "dot", "dye", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English don, idon, ydon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dune, deen, d… The correct English form is done, spelled D-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having completed or finished an activity.
  2. 2
    Completed or finished.
  3. 3
    Ready, fully cooked.
  4. 4
    Being exhausted or fully spent.
  5. 5
    Without hope or prospect of completion or success.
  6. 6
    Fashionable, socially acceptable, tasteful.
  7. 7
    Finished with (something).
  8. 8
    Punished.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He pushed his empty plate away, sighed and pronounced "I am done."
  2. They were done playing and were picking up the toys when he arrived.

Etymology

From Middle English don, idon, ydon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dune, deen, dene, dane (“done”), Saterland Frisian däin (“done”), West Frisian dien (“done”), Dutch gedaan (“done”), German Low German daan (“done”), German getan (“done”). More at do.

This word in other languages

listo(Español)fait(Français)gar(Deutsch)pronto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddone
  • dnoe
  • doen
  • odne

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of done - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddone1dnoe2doen2odne2
Edit distance from "done"

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 "done"?
"done" is spelled D-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dʌn/.
What does "done" mean?
As an adjective, "done" means: Having completed or finished an activity.
What words are commonly confused with "done"?
"done" is commonly confused with "due", "dot", "dye". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "done"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "done" is /dʌn/. 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 "done"?
From Middle English don, idon, ydon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dun... 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 "done", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

real#229he's#227care#247play#222

What to do next

You've looked up "done". Here's where to go from here.

  • "done" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "due". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #236 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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