flood

/flʌd/

//flʌd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"flood" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“flood” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,018. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,018
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-flood · flood · English

flood · rank #4,018 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,018
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fame

Nearest frequency peer: fame (-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 “flood”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “flood” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

flood vs foo
60% similar
flood vs food
80% similar
flood vs foot
60% similar

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

Key facts for flood
PropertyValue
Headwordflood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/flʌd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,018
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “flood”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).floodlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “fame” (#4,017), “extend” (#4,016), “genetic” (#4,020). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “flood” is #4,018. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around flood (IPA /flʌd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,018 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for flood, with forms such as "fflood", "fllood", and "flod". 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, "foo", "food", "foot", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from *plew- (“to flow”). Cognate with Scots flude, fluid, Saterland Frisian Floud, Dutch vloed, German Flut, Danish flod, Icelandic flóð, and Goth… The correct English form is flood, spelled F-L-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
  2. 2
    A large number or quantity of anything appearing more rapidly than can easily be dealt with.
  3. 3
    The flowing in of the tide, opposed to the ebb.
  4. 4
    A floodlight.
  5. 5
    Menstrual discharge; menses.
  6. 6
    Water as opposed to land.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how flood appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a covenant never to destroy the earth again by flood
  2. Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.

Etymology

From Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from *plew- (“to flow”). Cognate with Scots flude, fluid, Saterland Frisian Floud, Dutch vloed, German Flut, Danish flod, Icelandic flóð, and Gothic 𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃 (flōdus).

This word in other languages

inundación(Español)inondation(Français)Flut(Deutsch)cheia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fflood
  • fllood
  • flod
  • flodo
  • floodd
  • folod
  • lfood

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

fflood1fllood1flod1flodo2floodd1folod2lfood2
Edit distance from "flood"

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 "flood"?
"flood" is spelled F-L-O-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /flʌd/.
What does "flood" mean?
As a noun, "flood" means: An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
What words are commonly confused with "flood"?
"flood" is commonly confused with "foo", "food", "foot". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flood"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flood" is /flʌd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "flood"?
From Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from *plew- (“to flow”). Cognate with Scots flude, fluid, Saterland Frisian Floud, Dutch vloed, German Flut, Danish flod, Icelandic flóð... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flood", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

kills#4,028Maria#4,031Bruce#4,004boxes#4,003

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

blues7 variantsoccurs7 variantsbears7 variantstennis7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list