driverless

adj

"driverless" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“driverless” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,114. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,114
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Without a driver.

Corpus desk

Index EN-driverless · driverless · English

driverless · rank #36,114 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,114
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Dougherty

Nearest frequency peer: Dougherty (-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 “driverless”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “driverless” 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
Key facts for driverless
PropertyValue
Headworddriverless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Frequency rank#36,114
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “driverless” 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).driverlesslands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “Dougherty” (#36,113), “drowsy” (#36,116), “Donahue” (#36,111). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around driverless, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #36,114 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Without a driver.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for driverless, with forms such as "ddriverless", "dirverless", and "drievrless". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From driver + -less. The correct English form is driverless, spelled D-R-I-V-E-R-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Without a driver.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a driverless vehicle
  2. Will Underground trains be completely driverless? The new signalling being installed as part of the Upgrade will allow this, and the development, allowing a faster throughput of trains, might arise from, or be stopped by, a battle with the unions. Mike Brown, Managing Director of London Underground, envisages driverless trains within twenty years.

Etymology

From driver + -less.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddriverless
  • dirverless
  • drievrless
  • drivelress
  • driverelss
  • driverles
  • driverlless
  • driverlses
  • driverrless
  • drivreless
  • drivverless
  • drriverless
  • drvierless
  • rdiverless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of driverless - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddriverless1dirverless2drievrless2drivelress2driverelss2driverles1driverlless1driverlses2
Edit distance from "driverless"

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 "driverless"?
"driverless" is spelled D-R-I-V-E-R-L-E-S-S.
What does "driverless" mean?
As an adjective, "driverless" means: Without a driver.
What are common misspellings of "driverless"?
Common misspellings include "ddriverless", "dirverless", "drievrless", "drivelress", "driverelss". The correct spelling is "driverless".
What is the origin of the word "driverless"?
From driver + -less. 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 "driverless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

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

  • 14 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #36,114 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