drool

/dɹuːl/

//dɹuːl// verb

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

"drool" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drool” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,439. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,439
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To secrete saliva, especially in anticipation of food.

Corpus desk

Index EN-drool · drool · English

drool · rank #27,439 · 7 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,439
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dredge

Nearest frequency peer: dredge (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “drool”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “drool” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

drool vs drop
60% similar
drool vs drove
60% similar
drool vs drops
60% similar

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

Key facts for drool
PropertyValue
Headworddrool
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɹuːl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#27,439
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “drool”

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).droollands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “dredge” (#27,438), “dumbledore” (#27,440), “draco” (#27,437). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “drool” is #27,439. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around drool (IPA /dɹuːl/), averb. Corpus frequency is #27,439 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for drool, with forms such as "ddrool", "dorol", and "drol". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "drop", "drove", "drops", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier drule, apparently a corruption of drivel (compare snool from snivel). Compare also Middle English drullen (“to stagger, drool”), Dutch druilen (“to be listless, snooze”). The correct English form is drool, spelled D-R-O-O-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To secrete saliva, especially in anticipation of food.
  2. 2
    To secrete any substance in a similar way.
  3. 3
    To react to something with uncontrollable desire.
  4. 4
    To talk nonsense; drivel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The alien beast drooled slime.
  2. That boy is so attractive I drool whenever I see him!

Etymology

From earlier drule, apparently a corruption of drivel (compare snool from snivel). Compare also Middle English drullen (“to stagger, drool”), Dutch druilen (“to be listless, snooze”).

Synonyms

slaverslobberdribbel

This word in other languages

babear(Español)saliver(Français)sabbern(Deutsch)babar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddrool
  • dorol
  • drol
  • drolo
  • drooll
  • drrool
  • rdool

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddrool1dorol2drol1drolo2drooll1drrool1rdool2
Edit distance from "drool"

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 "drool"?
"drool" is spelled D-R-O-O-L. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹuːl/.
What does "drool" mean?
As a verb, "drool" means: To secrete saliva, especially in anticipation of food.
What words are commonly confused with "drool"?
"drool" is commonly confused with "drop", "drove", "drops". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "drool"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drool" is /dɹuːl/. 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 "drool"?
From earlier drule, apparently a corruption of drivel (compare snool from snivel). Compare also Middle English drullen (“to stagger, drool”), Dutch druilen (“to be listless, snooze”). 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 "drool", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

draco#27,437diced#27,432decoy#27,424cramp#27,418

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Curran7 variantsfixer7 variantsforay7 variantsfriar7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list