exam
/ɪɡˈzæm/
"exam" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“exam” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,598. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #4,598
- frequency rank, English
- 2,246
- “E” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Clipping of examination, especially when meaning “test” or in compound terms.
Corpus desk
Index EN-exam · exam · English
exam · rank #4,598 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #4,598
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,246
- PHOTO-FINISH equality
Nearest frequency peer: equality (-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 “exam”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- eh
eh
95,406 corpus weight
- encounter
encounter
95,405 corpus weight
- equality
equality
95,404 corpus weight
- exam
exam
95,403 corpus weight
- examination
examination
95,402 corpus weight
- fails
fails
95,401 corpus weight
What this shows “exam” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | exam |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪɡˈzæm/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #4,598 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “exam”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around exam (IPA /ɪɡˈzæm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,598 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Clipping of examination, especially when meaning “test” or in compound terms.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for exam, with forms such as "eaxm", "examm", and "exma". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "exe", "exit", "expo", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is exam, spelled E-X-A-M.
Definition
- 1Clipping of examination, especially when meaning “test” or in compound terms.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how exam appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.[…]There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no school league tables, no private tuition industry, no school uniforms. […]
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- eaxm
- examm
- exma
- exxam
- xeam
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of exam - 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.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "exam", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).