explore
/ɪkˈsplɔː/
"explore" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“explore” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,234 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #4,234
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To seek for something or after someone.
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 | explore |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪkˈsplɔː/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #4,234 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “explore” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for explore is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪkˈsplɔː/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,234 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for explore, with forms such as "epxlore", "exlpore", and "expllore". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "export", "exposé", "explorer", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eɣ Latin ex Latin ex- Latin plōrō Latin explōrōder. Middle French explorerder. English explore From Middle French explorer, from Latin explōrāre (“to… The correct English form is explore, spelled E-X-P-L-O-R-E.
Definition
- 1To seek for something or after someone.
- 2To examine or investigate something systematically.
- 3To travel somewhere in search of discovery.
- 4To examine diagnostically.
- 5To (seek) experience first hand.
- 6To be engaged exploring in any of the above senses.
- 7To wander without any particular aim or purpose.
- 8To seek sexual variety, to sow one's wild oats.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eɣ Latin ex Latin ex- Latin plōrō Latin explōrōder. Middle French explorerder. English explore From Middle French explorer, from Latin explōrāre (“to investigate, search out”), itself said to be originally a hunters' term meaning "to set up a loud cry", from ex- (“out”) + plōrāre (“to cry”), but the second element is also explained as "to make to flow" (from pluere (“to flow”)).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epxlore,exlpore,expllore,exploer,explorre,explroe,expolre,expplore,exxplore,xeplore
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of explore - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “explore”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X-P-L-O-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪkˈsplɔː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “export” - see the side-by-side comparison. explore vs export
- 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.