durable

/ˈdʊɹəbəl/

//ˈdʊɹəbəl// adj

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

"durable" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“durable” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,536. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,536
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Able to resist wear or decay; lasting; enduring.

Corpus desk

Index EN-durable · durable · English

durable · rank #11,536 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,536
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH drummer

Nearest frequency peer: drummer (-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 “durable”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “durable” 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).

durable vs doable
71% similar
durable vs disable
71% similar

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

Key facts for durable
PropertyValue
Headworddurable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈdʊɹəbəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#11,536
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “durable”

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).durablelands 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 “drummer” (#11,535), “efficacy” (#11,537), “drown” (#11,534). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “durable” is #11,536. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around durable (IPA /ˈdʊɹəbəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,536 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Able to resist wear or decay; lasting; enduring.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for durable, with forms such as "ddurable", "druable", and "duarble". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "doable", "disable", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English durable, from Old French durable, from Latin dūrābilis (“lasting, permanent”), from dūrō (“harden, make hard”). The correct English form is durable, spelled D-U-R-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Able to resist wear or decay; lasting; enduring.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonyms: persistent, long-lasting, lasting, hard-wearing; see also Thesaurus:lasting
  2. durable batteries

Etymology

From Middle English durable, from Old French durable, from Latin dūrābilis (“lasting, permanent”), from dūrō (“harden, make hard”).

This word in other languages

duradero(Español)durable(Français)strapazierfähig(Deutsch)duradouro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddurable
  • druable
  • duarble
  • durabble
  • durabel
  • durablle
  • duralbe
  • durbale
  • durible
  • durrable
  • udrable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of durable - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddurable1druable2duarble2durabble1durabel2durablle1duralbe2durbale2
Edit distance from "durable"

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 "durable"?
"durable" is spelled D-U-R-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdʊɹəbəl/.
What does "durable" mean?
As an adjective, "durable" means: Able to resist wear or decay; lasting; enduring.
What words are commonly confused with "durable"?
"durable" is commonly confused with "doable", "disable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "durable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "durable" is /ˈdʊɹəbəl/. 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 "durable"?
From Middle English durable, from Old French durable, from Latin dūrābilis (“lasting, permanent”), from dūrō (“harden, make hard”). 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 "durable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

drummer#11,535courier#11,526copying#11,524bonding#11,511

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Filipino11 variantsimpaired11 variantsLeonardo11 variantsbending11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list