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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,422 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,422
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose.

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)

Where “drug” 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). drug 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 drug is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɹʌɡ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,422 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “drug”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is D-R-U-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /dɹʌɡ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “due” - see the side-by-side comparison. drug vs due
  • 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