dump

/dʌmp/

//dʌmp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“dump” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,233. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,233
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 place where waste or garbage is left; a ground or place for dumping ashes, refuse, etc.; a disposal site.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dump · dump · English

dump · rank #6,233 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,233
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Dublin

Nearest frequency peer: Dublin (-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 “dump”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “dump” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

dump vs duo
50% similar
dump vs dun
50% similar
dump vs dup
75% similar

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

Key facts for dump
PropertyValue
Headworddump
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dʌmp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#6,233
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dump” 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).dumplands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Dublin” (#6,232), “duo” (#6,234), “Dubai” (#6,231). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around dump (IPA /dʌmp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,233 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 16 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for dump, with forms such as "ddump", "dmup", and "dummp". 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, "duo", "dun", "dup", 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 dumpen, dompen, probably from Old Norse dumpa (“to thump”) (whence Danish dumpe (“to fall suddenly”)), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of falling, similar to thump. The correct English form is dump, spelled D-U-M-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A place where waste or garbage is left; a ground or place for dumping ashes, refuse, etc.; a disposal site.
  2. 2
    A car or boat for dumping refuse, etc.
  3. 3
    That which is dumped, especially in a chaotic way; a mess.
  4. 4
    That which is dumped, especially in a chaotic way; a mess.
  5. 5
    An act of dumping, or its result.
  6. 6
    A formatted listing of the contents of program storage, especially when produced automatically by a failing program.
  7. 7
    A storage place for supplies, especially military.
  8. 8
    An unpleasant, dirty, disreputable, unfashionable, boring, or depressing looking place.
  9. 9
    An act of defecation; a defecating.
  10. 10
    A sad, gloomy state of the mind; sadness; melancholy; despondency.
  11. 11
    Absence of mind; reverie.
  12. 12
    A pile of ore or rock.
  13. 13
    A melancholy strain or tune in music; any tune.
  14. 14
    An old kind of dance.
  15. 15
    A small coin made by punching a hole in a larger coin (called a holey dollar).
  16. 16
    A temporary display case that holds many copies of an item being sold.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a toxic waste dump
  2. The new XML dump is coming soon.

Etymology

From Middle English dumpen, dompen, probably from Old Norse dumpa (“to thump”) (whence Danish dumpe (“to fall suddenly”)), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of falling, similar to thump.

This word in other languages

basural(Español)décharge(Français)Kippe(Deutsch)aterro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddump
  • dmup
  • dummp
  • dumpp
  • dupm
  • udmp

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddump1dmup2dummp1dumpp1dupm2udmp2
Edit distance from "dump"

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 "dump"?
"dump" is spelled D-U-M-P. The IPA pronunciation is /dʌmp/.
What does "dump" mean?
As a noun, "dump" means: A place where waste or garbage is left; a ground or place for dumping ashes, refuse, etc.; a disposal site.
What words are commonly confused with "dump"?
"dump" is commonly confused with "duo", "dun", "dup". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dump"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dump" is /dʌmp/. 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 "dump"?
From Middle English dumpen, dompen, probably from Old Norse dumpa (“to thump”) (whence Danish dumpe (“to fall suddenly”)), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of falling, similar to thump. 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 "dump", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

coke#6,224bros#6,217wont#6,202myth#6,269

Similar misspelling depth

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

Dubai6 variantsbreed6 variantslined6 variantsskull6 variants

What to do next

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

  • "dump" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "duo". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,233 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