fewest

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"fewest" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fewest” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,834. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,834
frequency rank, English
18,613
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - superlative degree of few; the smallest number.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fewest vs forest
67% similar
fewest vs finest
67% similar
fewest vs feet
67% similar

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

Key facts for fewest
PropertyValue
Headwordfewest
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechDeterminer
Letters6
Frequency rank#27,834
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fewest” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). fewest lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around fewest, adeterminer. Corpus frequency is #27,834 among 18,613 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "superlative degree of few; the smallest number.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for fewest, with forms such as "efwest", "feewst", and "fewesst". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "forest", "finest", "feet", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is fewest, spelled F-E-W-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    superlative degree of few; the smallest number.

Antonyms

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efwest
  • feewst
  • fewesst
  • fewestt
  • fewets
  • fewset
  • fewwest
  • ffewest
  • fweest

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

efwest2feewst2fewesst1fewestt1fewets2fewset2fewwest1ffewest1
Edit distance from "fewest"

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 "fewest"?
"fewest" is spelled F-E-W-E-S-T.
What does "fewest" mean?
As a determiner, "fewest" means: superlative degree of few; the smallest number.
What words are commonly confused with "fewest"?
"fewest" is commonly confused with "forest", "finest", "feet". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "fewest" come from?
"fewest" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “fewest”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-E-W-E-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “forest” - see the side-by-side comparison. fewest vs forest
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list