dwelling

/ˈdwɛl.ɪŋ/

//ˈdwɛl.ɪŋ// noun

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

"dwelling" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dwelling” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,530. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,530
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A house or place in which a person lives; a habitation, a home.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dwelling · dwelling · English

dwelling · rank #10,530 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,530
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH drying

Nearest frequency peer: drying (-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 “dwelling”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dwelling” 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).

dwelling vs dealing
75% similar
dwelling vs delving
75% similar
dwelling vs drilling
75% similar

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

Key facts for dwelling
PropertyValue
Headworddwelling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdwɛl.ɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,530
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dwelling”

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).dwellinglands 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 “drying” (#10,529), “Dwight” (#10,531), “drowned” (#10,528). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dwelling” is #10,530. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around dwelling (IPA /ˈdwɛl.ɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,530 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A house or place in which a person lives; a habitation, a home.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for dwelling, with forms such as "ddwelling", "dewlling", and "dwelilng". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "dealing", "delving", "drilling", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dwellynge, dwellyng (“delay, continuance, abode”), equivalent to dwell + -ing. More at dwell. The correct English form is dwelling, spelled D-W-E-L-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A house or place in which a person lives; a habitation, a home.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The old house served as a dwelling for Albert.
  2. For Philip's dwelling fronted on the street, / The latest house to landward; but behind, / With one small gate that open'd on the waste, / Flourish'd a little garden square and wall'd; [...]

Etymology

From Middle English dwellynge, dwellyng (“delay, continuance, abode”), equivalent to dwell + -ing. More at dwell.

This word in other languages

domicilio(Español)domicile(Français)Wohnsitz(Deutsch)domicílio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddwelling
  • dewlling
  • dwelilng
  • dweling
  • dwellign
  • dwellingg
  • dwellinng
  • dwellnig
  • dwleling
  • dwwelling
  • wdelling

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddwelling1dewlling2dwelilng2dweling1dwellign2dwellingg1dwellinng1dwellnig2
Edit distance from "dwelling"

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 "dwelling"?
"dwelling" is spelled D-W-E-L-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdwɛl.ɪŋ/.
What does "dwelling" mean?
As a noun, "dwelling" means: A house or place in which a person lives; a habitation, a home.
What words are commonly confused with "dwelling"?
"dwelling" is commonly confused with "dealing", "delving", "drilling". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dwelling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dwelling" is /ˈdwɛl.ɪŋ/. 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 "dwelling"?
From Middle English dwellynge, dwellyng (“delay, continuance, abode”), equivalent to dwell + -ing. More at dwell. 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 "dwelling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Einstein#10,533enclosed#10,537contempt#10,520Fernando#10,547

Similar misspelling depth

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

drowned11 variantsbudgets11 variantsjealousy11 variantsAmericas11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list