dung

/ˈdʌŋ/

//ˈdʌŋ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“dung” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,502. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,502
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Manure; animal excrement.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dung · dung · English

dung · rank #21,502 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,502
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Dunbar

Nearest frequency peer: Dunbar (-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 “dung”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dung” 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).

dung vs duo
50% similar
dung vs dup
50% similar
dung vs dur
50% similar

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

Key facts for dung
PropertyValue
Headworddung
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdʌŋ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#21,502
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dung”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Dunbar” (#21,501), “Dyson” (#21,503), “dummies” (#21,500). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dung” is #21,502. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around dung (IPA /ˈdʌŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,502 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for dung, with forms such as "ddung", "dnug", and "dugn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "duo", "dup", "dur", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dung, dunge, donge, from Old English dung (“dung; excrement; manure”), from Proto-West Germanic *dungu, from Proto-Germanic *dungō (“dung”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰengʰ- (“to cover”). Superseded non-native Middle English fen (“dung,… The correct English form is dung, spelled D-U-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Manure; animal excrement.
  2. 2
    A type of manure, as from a particular species or type of animal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the toad, the todpole, the wall-newt, and the water; that in the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend rages, eats cow-dung for sallets; swallows the old rat and the ditch-dog; drinks the green mantle of the standing pool[…]
  2. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.

Etymology

From Middle English dung, dunge, donge, from Old English dung (“dung; excrement; manure”), from Proto-West Germanic *dungu, from Proto-Germanic *dungō (“dung”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰengʰ- (“to cover”). Superseded non-native Middle English fen (“dung, excrement, filth”), from Old French fien, fiente (“dung, manure”).

This word in other languages

excremento(Español)bouse(Français)Dünger(Deutsch)estrume(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddung
  • dnug
  • dugn
  • dungg
  • dunng
  • udng

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddung1dnug2dugn2dungg1dunng1udng2
Edit distance from "dung"

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 "dung"?
"dung" is spelled D-U-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdʌŋ/.
What does "dung" mean?
As a noun, "dung" means: Manure; animal excrement.
What words are commonly confused with "dung"?
"dung" is commonly confused with "duo", "dup", "dur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dung"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dung" is /ˈdʌŋ/. 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 "dung"?
From Middle English dung, dunge, donge, from Old English dung (“dung; excrement; manure”), from Proto-West Germanic *dungu, from Proto-Germanic *dungō (“dung”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰengʰ- (“to cover”). Superseded non-native Middle English f... 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 "dung", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

glam#21,527goth#21,529Herr#21,537IMDb#21,544

Similar misspelling depth

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

Eiffel6 variantsemoji6 variantsHealy6 variantsClegg6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list