email

/ˈiːmeɪl/

//ˈiːmeɪl// noun

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

"email" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“email” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,107. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,107
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A system for sending messages and datas by means of a computer network, primarily the Internet, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and the Internet Message Format.

Corpus desk

Index EN-email · email · English

email · rank #2,107 · 6 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,107
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH download

Nearest frequency peer: download (-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 “email”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “email” 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).

email vs evil
60% similar
email vs emit
60% similar
email vs Emil
60% similar

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

Key facts for email
PropertyValue
Headwordemail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈiːmeɪl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,107
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “email”

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).emaillands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “download” (#2,106), “ending” (#2,108), “contains” (#2,105). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “email” is #2,107. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around email (IPA /ˈiːmeɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,107 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for email, with forms such as "eamil", "emaill", and "emali". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "evil", "emit", "Emil", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is an abbreviation of electronic mail. First attested in the 1970s. The verb is derived from the noun, by analogy with mail (“to send through the mail”). The correct English form is email, spelled E-M-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A system for sending messages and datas by means of a computer network, primarily the Internet, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and the Internet Message Format.
  2. 2
    The quantity of messages sent through an email system.
  3. 3
    A message being sent through email.
  4. 4
    An email address.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He sent me his details via email.
  2. The advent of email has simultaneously brought our society closer together and farther apart.

Etymology

The noun is an abbreviation of electronic mail. First attested in the 1970s. The verb is derived from the noun, by analogy with mail (“to send through the mail”).

This word in other languages

correo electrónico(Español)courrier électronique(Français)E-Mail(Deutsch)correio eletrónico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eamil
  • emaill
  • emali
  • emial
  • emmail
  • meail

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of email - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

eamil2emaill1emali2emial2emmail1meail2
Edit distance from "email"

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 "email"?
"email" is spelled E-M-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈiːmeɪl/.
What does "email" mean?
As a noun, "email" means: A system for sending messages and datas by means of a computer network, primarily the Internet, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and the Internet Message Format.
What words are commonly confused with "email"?
"email" is commonly confused with "evil", "emit", "Emil". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "email"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "email" is /ˈiːmeɪl/. 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 "email"?
The noun is an abbreviation of electronic mail. First attested in the 1970s. The verb is derived from the noun, by analogy with mail (“to send through the mail”). 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 "email", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trees#2,093noted#2,083stuck#2,131sugar#2,132

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

flow6 variantssets6 variantssoft6 variantsjump6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list