fit
/fɪt/
"fit" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fit” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,185 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #1,185
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Suitable; proper
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 | fit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /fɪt/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #1,185 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for fit is 3 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,185 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
fit has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "FL", "FM", "fu", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly from Middle English fit (“an adversary of equal power”), of uncertain further origin. The original sense appears to have been "to marshal or deploy troops", which shifted to "to suit (troops to a certain location" > "suitable", and may be further r… The correct English form is fit, spelled F-I-T.
Definition
- 1Suitable; proper
- 2Adapted to a purpose or environment.
- 3In good shape; physically well.
- 4Sexually attractive; good-looking; fanciable.
- 5Prepared; ready.
Etymology
Possibly from Middle English fit (“an adversary of equal power”), of uncertain further origin. The original sense appears to have been "to marshal or deploy troops", which shifted to "to suit (troops to a certain location" > "suitable", and may be further related to Icelandic fitja (“to web, knit, cast on”).
This word in other languages
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 “fit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /fɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “FL” - see the side-by-side comparison. fit vs FL
- 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.