eats

/iːts/

//iːts// verb

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

The verdict

“eats” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,681 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#7,681
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - third-person singular simple present indicative of eat

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

eats vs et
50% similar
eats vs ES
0% similar
eats vs est
50% similar

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

Key facts for eats
PropertyValue
Headwordeats
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/iːts/
Letters4
Frequency rank#7,681
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “eats” 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). eats 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 eats is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /iːts/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,681 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "third-person singular simple present indicative of eat".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for eats, with forms such as "aets", "eatss", and "eatts". 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, "et", "ES", "est", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is eats, spelled E-A-T-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    third-person singular simple present indicative of eat

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aets,eatss,eatts,etas

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aets2eatss1eatts1etas2
Edit distance from "eats"

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 "eats"?
"eats" is spelled E-A-T-S. The IPA pronunciation is /iːts/.
What does "eats" mean?
As a verb, "eats" means: third-person singular simple present indicative of eat
What words are commonly confused with "eats"?
"eats" is commonly confused with "et", "ES", "est". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "eats"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eats" is /iːts/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "eats" come from?
"eats" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “eats”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is E-A-T-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /iːts/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “et” - see the side-by-side comparison. eats vs et
  • 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