drug

/dɹʌɡ/

//dɹʌɡ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“drug” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,422. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,422
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose.

Corpus desk

Index EN-drug · drug · English

drug · rank #1,422 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,422
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH comments

Nearest frequency peer: comments (-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 “drug”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “drug” 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).

drug vs due
50% similar
drug vs dry
50% similar
drug vs duo
50% similar

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

Key facts for drug
PropertyValue
Headworddrug
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɹʌɡ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,422
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “drug”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).druglands 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 “comments” (#1,421), “economy” (#1,423), “coast” (#1,420). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “drug” is #1,422. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around drug (IPA /dɹʌɡ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,422 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for drug, with forms such as "ddrug", "drgu", and "drrug". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "due", "dry", "duo", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English drogge (“medicine”), from Middle French drogue, drocque (“tincture, pharmaceutical product”) (c. 1462), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge, as in droge vate (“dry vats, dry barrels”), mistaking droge for the contents, which wer… The correct English form is drug, spelled D-R-U-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose.
  2. 2
    A psychoactive substance, especially one which is illegal and addictive, ingested for recreational use, such as cocaine.
  3. 3
    Anything, such as a substance, emotion, or action, to which one is addicted.
  4. 4
    Any commodity that lies on hand, or is not salable; an article of slow sale, or in no demand.
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of drugstore.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Aspirin is a drug that reduces pain, acts against inflammation and lowers body temperature.
  2. The revenues from both brand-name drugs and generic drugs have increased.

Etymology

From Middle English drogge (“medicine”), from Middle French drogue, drocque (“tincture, pharmaceutical product”) (c. 1462), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge, as in droge vate (“dry vats, dry barrels”), mistaking droge for the contents, which were usually dried herbs, plants or wares. Droge comes from Middle Dutch drōghe (“dry”), from Old Dutch drōgi (“dry”), from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (“dry, hard”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard or solid”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, hold fast, support”). Cognate with English dry, Dutch droog (“dry”), German trocken (“dry”).

This word in other languages

droga(Español)drogue(Français)Arznei(Deutsch)droga(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddrug
  • drgu
  • drrug
  • drugg
  • durg
  • rdug

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of drug - 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.

ddrug1drgu2drrug1drugg1durg2rdug2
Edit distance from "drug"

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 "drug"?
"drug" is spelled D-R-U-G. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹʌɡ/.
What does "drug" mean?
As a noun, "drug" means: A substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose.
What words are commonly confused with "drug"?
"drug" is commonly confused with "due", "dry", "duo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "drug"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drug" is /dɹʌɡ/. 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 "drug"?
From Middle English drogge (“medicine”), from Middle French drogue, drocque (“tincture, pharmaceutical product”) (c. 1462), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge, as in droge vate (“dry vats, dry barrels”), mistaking droge for the contents,... 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 "drug", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

cell#1,419foot#1,426hall#1,427mass#1,428

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

coast6 variantsavoid6 variantssick6 variantsshop6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list