drudgery

/ˈdɹʌd͡ʒəɹi/

//ˈdɹʌd͡ʒəɹi// noun

"drudgery" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drudgery” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #48,204 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#48,204
frequency rank, English
8
letters
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Exhausting, menial, and tedious work.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

drudgery vs drudge
75% similar

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

Key facts for drudgery
PropertyValue
Headworddrudgery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɹʌd͡ʒəɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#48,204
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “drudgery” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for drudgery is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɹʌd͡ʒəɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #48,204 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Exhausting, menial, and tedious work.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for drudgery, with forms such as "ddrudgery", "drdugery", and "drrudgery". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "drudge", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From drudge (“person who works in a low servile job”) + -ery (suffix meaning ‘the art, craft, or practice of’ forming nouns). The correct English form is drudgery, spelled D-R-U-D-G-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exhausting, menial, and tedious work.

Etymology

From drudge (“person who works in a low servile job”) + -ery (suffix meaning ‘the art, craft, or practice of’ forming nouns).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddrudgery,drdugery,drrudgery,druddgery,drudegry,drudgerry,drudgeryy,drudgeyr,drudggery,drudgrey,drugdery,durdgery,rdudgery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddrudgery1drdugery2drrudgery1druddgery1drudegry2drudgerry1drudgeryy1drudgeyr2
Edit distance from "drudgery"

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 "drudgery"?
"drudgery" is spelled D-R-U-D-G-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɹʌd͡ʒəɹi/.
What does "drudgery" mean?
As a noun, "drudgery" means: Exhausting, menial, and tedious work.
What words are commonly confused with "drudgery"?
"drudgery" is commonly confused with "drudge". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "drudgery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drudgery" is /ˈdɹʌd͡ʒəɹi/. 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 "drudgery"?
From drudge (“person who works in a low servile job”) + -ery (suffix meaning ‘the art, craft, or practice of’ forming nouns). 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.

Using “drudgery”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-R-U-D-G-E-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈdɹʌd͡ʒəɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “drudge” - see the side-by-side comparison. drudgery vs drudge
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list