ember

/ˈɛm.bə/

//ˈɛm.bə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“ember” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,019. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,019
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A piece of coal or wood glowing by heat; a hot coal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ember · ember · English

ember · rank #30,019 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,019
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH elegantly

Nearest frequency peer: elegantly (-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 “ember”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ember” 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).

ember vs ever
60% similar
ember vs emir
60% similar
ember vs enter
60% similar

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

Key facts for ember
PropertyValue
Headwordember
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛm.bə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#30,019
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ember”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).emberlands 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 “elegantly” (#30,018), “elated” (#30,017), “Emmys” (#30,021). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “ember” is #30,019. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around ember (IPA /ˈɛm.bə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,019 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for ember, with forms such as "ebmer", "embber", and "emberr". 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, "ever", "emir", "enter", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English embre, eymbre, aymer, eymere, emeri, from Old English ǣmyrġe, from Proto-West Germanic *aimuʀjā, from Proto-Germanic *aimuzjǭ, a compound of *aimaz + *uzjǭ. The latter is from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ews- (“to burn”). The b is intrusive a… The correct English form is ember, spelled E-M-B-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A piece of coal or wood glowing by heat; a hot coal.
  2. 2
    Smoldering ash.

Etymology

From Middle English embre, eymbre, aymer, eymere, emeri, from Old English ǣmyrġe, from Proto-West Germanic *aimuʀjā, from Proto-Germanic *aimuzjǭ, a compound of *aimaz + *uzjǭ. The latter is from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ews- (“to burn”). The b is intrusive and was added in English for ease of pronunciation when the vowel of the second syllable (y) disappeared. See also Old High German eimuria (“pyre”), Danish emmer, Swedish mörja (“embers”).

This word in other languages

brasa(Español)brandon(Français)Glut(Deutsch)brasa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ebmer
  • embber
  • emberr
  • embre
  • emebr
  • meber

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ebmer2embber1emberr1embre2emebr2meber2
Edit distance from "ember"

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 "ember"?
"ember" is spelled E-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛm.bə/.
What does "ember" mean?
As a noun, "ember" means: A piece of coal or wood glowing by heat; a hot coal.
What words are commonly confused with "ember"?
"ember" is commonly confused with "ever", "emir", "enter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ember"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ember" is /ˈɛm.bə/. 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 "ember"?
From Middle English embre, eymbre, aymer, eymere, emeri, from Old English ǣmyrġe, from Proto-West Germanic *aimuʀjā, from Proto-Germanic *aimuzjǭ, a compound of *aimaz + *uzjǭ. The latter is from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ews- (“to burn”). The b is i... 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 "ember", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Emmys#30,021drury#30,012erupt#30,027dived#30,007

Similar misspelling depth

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

diddy6 variantsfillet6 variantsDavao6 variantsgels6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list