ecology

/ɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/

//ɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“ecology” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,532. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,532
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The branch of biology dealing with the relationships of organisms with their environment and with each other.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ecology · ecology · English

ecology · rank #10,532 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,532
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH Dwight

Nearest frequency peer: Dwight (-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 “ecology”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ecology” 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).

ecology vs eulogy
71% similar
ecology vs economy
71% similar
ecology vs etiology
75% similar

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

Key facts for ecology
PropertyValue
Headwordecology
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#10,532
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ecology”

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).ecologylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Dwight” (#10,531), “Einstein” (#10,533), “dwelling” (#10,530). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “ecology” is #10,532. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around ecology (IPA /ɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,532 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for ecology, with forms such as "ceology", "eccology", and "ecloogy". 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, "eulogy", "economy", "etiology", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Calque of German Ökologie (coined in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel), from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”). By surface analysis, eco- + -logy. The correct English form is ecology, spelled E-C-O-L-O-G-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The branch of biology dealing with the relationships of organisms with their environment and with each other.
  2. 2
    Any study of the relationships of components of a system with their environment and with each other.
  3. 3
    The totality or pattern of relationships of components of a system with their environment and with each other.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. As a graduate student, he was working on a thesis: The Ecology of the Black Creek Area. He had to investigate the relationships, past and present, of men and plants and animals in this region.
  2. As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.

Etymology

Calque of German Ökologie (coined in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel), from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”). By surface analysis, eco- + -logy.

This word in other languages

ecología(Español)écologie(Français)Ökologie(Deutsch)ecologia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ceology
  • eccology
  • ecloogy
  • ecolgoy
  • ecollogy
  • ecologgy
  • ecologyy
  • ecoloyg
  • ecoolgy
  • eoclogy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ceology2eccology1ecloogy2ecolgoy2ecollogy1ecologgy1ecologyy1ecoloyg2
Edit distance from "ecology"

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 "ecology"?
"ecology" is spelled E-C-O-L-O-G-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/.
What does "ecology" mean?
As a noun, "ecology" means: The branch of biology dealing with the relationships of organisms with their environment and with each other.
What words are commonly confused with "ecology"?
"ecology" is commonly confused with "eulogy", "economy", "etiology". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ecology"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ecology" is /ɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/. 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 "ecology"?
Calque of German Ökologie (coined in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel), from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”). By surface analysis, eco- + -logy. 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 "ecology", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

drowned#10,528Croatia#10,523compass#10,517ceramic#10,507

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Dwight10 variantsdrying10 variantsclergy10 variantsinitiate10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list