doting

/ˈdəʊtɪŋ/

//ˈdəʊtɪŋ// verb

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

"doting" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“doting” is uncommon English (frequency #51,666 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,666
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of dote

Corpus desk

Index EN-doting · doting · English

doting · rank #51,666 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,666
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Doric

Nearest frequency peer: Doric (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “doting”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for doting
PropertyValue
Headworddoting
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈdəʊtɪŋ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#51,666
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “doting” in English

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).dotingfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Doric” (#51,665), “dreamlike” (#51,669), “dissonant” (#51,662). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “doting” is #51,666. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

doting is uncommon English at frequency #51,666 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈdəʊtɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "present participle and gerund of dote".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for doting, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dotynge; equivalent to dote + -ing. The correct English form is doting, spelled D-O-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of dote

Etymology

From Middle English dotynge; equivalent to dote + -ing.

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 "doting"?
"doting" is spelled D-O-T-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdəʊtɪŋ/.
What does "doting" mean?
As a verb, "doting" means: present participle and gerund of dote
How do you pronounce "doting"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "doting" is /ˈdəʊtɪŋ/. 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 "doting"?
From Middle English dotynge; equivalent to dote + -ing. 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 "doting", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dulled#51,673cutesy#51,641fondle#51,707choosy#51,610

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list