dote

/dəʊt/

//dəʊt// verb

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

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

The verdict

“dote” is uncommon English (frequency #72,252 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,252
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be weakly or foolishly fond of somebody.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dote · dote · English

dote · rank #72,252 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,252
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH domme

Nearest frequency peer: domme (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “dote”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dote” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dote
PropertyValue
Headworddote
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dəʊt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#72,252
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dote” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “domme” (#72,250), “Douro” (#72,254), “dominantly” (#72,249). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dote” is #72,252. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dote is uncommon English at frequency #72,252 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /dəʊt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for dote, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English doten, from Middle Low German doten (“to be foolish”) or Middle Dutch doten (“to be silly”). Doublet of doit (Scottish English). The noun in the sense of "imbecile" is derived from Middle English dote (“simpleton”), i… The correct English form is dote, spelled D-O-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To be weakly or foolishly fond of somebody.
  2. 2
    To act in a foolish manner; to be senile.
  3. 3
    To rot, decay.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Little Bill's parents just keep doting on him.
  2. Jules doted on Chris, spending hours while Chris was at school assembling vast cities out of microscopic Lego pieces to surprise him when he returned.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English doten, from Middle Low German doten (“to be foolish”) or Middle Dutch doten (“to be silly”). Doublet of doit (Scottish English). The noun in the sense of "imbecile" is derived from Middle English dote (“simpleton”), itself from doten (see above). The noun in the sense of "darling" and "decay" is derived from the modern verb.

This word in other languages

schwärmen(Deutsch)

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 "dote"?
"dote" is spelled D-O-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dəʊt/.
What does "dote" mean?
As a verb, "dote" means: To be weakly or foolishly fond of somebody.
How do you pronounce "dote"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dote" is /dəʊt/. 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 "dote"?
The verb is derived from Middle English doten, from Middle Low German doten (“to be foolish”) or Middle Dutch doten (“to be silly”). Doublet of doit (Scottish English). The noun in the sense of "imbecile" is derived from Middle English dote (“simp... 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 "dote", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Fama#72,297fiqh#72,311geet#72,341bere#72,128

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list