fodder

/ˈfɒdə/

//ˈfɒdə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“fodder” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,082. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,082
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fodder · fodder · English

fodder · rank #18,082 · 7 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,082
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fleece

Nearest frequency peer: fleece (-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 “fodder”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fodder” 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).

fodder vs foyer
67% similar
fodder vs former
67% similar
fodder vs foster
67% similar

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

Key facts for fodder
PropertyValue
Headwordfodder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɒdə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,082
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fodder” 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).fodderlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “fleece” (#18,081), “flattened” (#18,080), “fumble” (#18,084). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around fodder (IPA /ˈfɒdə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,082 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 fodder, with forms such as "fdoder", "ffodder", and "fodderr". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "foyer", "former", "foster", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fodder, foder, from Old English fōdor (“feed; fodder”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą, from *fōdô (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Compare Saterland Frisian Fodder, West Fr… The correct English form is fodder, spelled F-O-D-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.
  2. 2
    A load: various English units of weight or volume based upon standardized cartloads of certain commodities, generally around 1000 kg.
  3. 3
    Tracing paper.
  4. 4
    Stuff; material; something that serves as inspiration or encouragement, especially for satire or humour.
  5. 5
    The text to be operated on (anagrammed, etc.) within a clue.
  6. 6
    People considered to have negligible value and easily available or expendable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd, the shepherd for food follows not the sheep.
  2. Now measured by the old hundred, that is, 108 lbs. the charrus contains nearly 19 1/2 hundreds, that is it corresponds to the fodder, or fother, of modern times.

Etymology

From Middle English fodder, foder, from Old English fōdor (“feed; fodder”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą, from *fōdô (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Compare Saterland Frisian Fodder, West Frisian foer, Dutch voer (“pasture; fodder”), German Futter (“fodder; feed”), Danish foder, Swedish foder. More at food.

Synonyms

load

This word in other languages

forraje(Español)fourrage(Français)Futter(Deutsch)forragem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fdoder
  • ffodder
  • fodderr
  • foddre
  • fodedr
  • foder
  • ofdder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fodder - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

fdoder2ffodder1fodderr1foddre2fodedr2foder1ofdder2
Edit distance from "fodder"

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 "fodder"?
"fodder" is spelled F-O-D-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɒdə/.
What does "fodder" mean?
As a noun, "fodder" means: Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "fodder"?
"fodder" is commonly confused with "foyer", "former", "foster". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fodder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fodder" is /ˈfɒdə/. 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 "fodder"?
From Middle English fodder, foder, from Old English fōdor (“feed; fodder”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą, from *fōdô (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Compare Saterland Frisian Fodde... 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 "fodder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fleece#18,081fumble#18,084feudal#18,078herbal#18,098

Similar misspelling depth

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

glare7 variantsexert7 variantsleaps7 variantscoils7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list