electric
/ɪˈlɛktɹɪk/
"electric" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“electric” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,934 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #1,934
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of, relating to, produced by, operated with, or utilising electricity; electrical.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | electric |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪˈlɛktɹɪk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #1,934 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “electric” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for electric is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈlɛktɹɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,934 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for electric, with forms such as "eelctric", "elcetric", and "elecctric". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "electron", "electrics", "electronic", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in c. 1646 in a publication by Thomas Browne. From New Latin ēlectricus (“electrical; of amber”), from ēlectr(um) (“amber”) + -icus (“adjectival suffix”); from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber”); related to ἠλέκτωρ (ēléktōr, “shining … The correct English form is electric, spelled E-L-E-C-T-R-I-C.
Definition
- 1Of, relating to, produced by, operated with, or utilising electricity; electrical.
- 2Of or relating to an electronic version of a musical instrument that has an acoustic equivalent.
- 3Emotionally thrilling; electrifying.
Etymology
First attested in c. 1646 in a publication by Thomas Browne. From New Latin ēlectricus (“electrical; of amber”), from ēlectr(um) (“amber”) + -icus (“adjectival suffix”); from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber”); related to ἠλέκτωρ (ēléktōr, “shining sun”), of unknown origin (see which for more). The Latin term was apparently used first with the sense electrical in 1600 by the English physician and scientist William Gilbert in his work De Magnete.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eelctric,elcetric,elecctric,elecrtic,electirc,electrci,electricc,electrric,electtric,eletcric,ellectric,leectric
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of electric - 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.
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
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Using “electric”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-L-E-C-T-R-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈlɛktɹɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “electron” - see the side-by-side comparison. electric vs electron
- 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.