expensive
/ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/
"expensive" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“expensive” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,071 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,071
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having a high price or cost.
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 | expensive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #2,071 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “expensive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for expensive is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,071 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for expensive, with forms such as "epxensive", "exepnsive", and "expenisve". 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, "extensive", "explosive", "expressive", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin *expēnsīvus, from expendō (“to weigh out (money), to pay out”) (whence English expend). By surface analysis, expense + -ive. In the sense of "high-priced" has largely displaced dear. The correct English form is expensive, spelled E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Having a high price or cost.
- 2Taking a lot of system time or resources.
- 3Given to expending a lot of money; profligate, lavish.
- 4Having a high economy rate.
Etymology
From Latin *expēnsīvus, from expendō (“to weigh out (money), to pay out”) (whence English expend). By surface analysis, expense + -ive. In the sense of "high-priced" has largely displaced dear.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epxensive,exepnsive,expenisve,expennsive,expensiev,expensivve,expenssive,expensvie,expesnive,expnesive,exppensive,exxpensive,xepensive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of expensive - 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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Using “expensive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “extensive” - see the side-by-side comparison. expensive vs extensive
- 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.