food

/fuːd/

//fuːd// noun

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

"food" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“food” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #386 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#386
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any solid substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

food vs for
50% similar
food vs fox
50% similar
food vs fro
50% similar

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

Key facts for food
PropertyValue
Headwordfood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fuːd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#386
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “food” 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). food lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for food is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fuːd/. Corpus data places it at rank #386 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for food, with forms such as "ffood", "fod", and "fodo". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "for", "fox", "fro", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fode, foode, from Old English fōda (“food”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdō, from Proto-Germanic *fōdô (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Cognate with Scots fuid (“food”), Low German föde, vöde (“food”),… The correct English form is food, spelled F-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any solid substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life.
  2. 2
    A foodstuff, a type of food.
  3. 3
    Anything that nourishes or sustains.
  4. 4
    Any illegal substance or illegal substances, drugs.

Etymology

From Middle English fode, foode, from Old English fōda (“food”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdō, from Proto-Germanic *fōdô (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Cognate with Scots fuid (“food”), Low German föde, vöde (“food”), West Frisian fiedsel (“food”), Dutch voedsel (“food”) Danish føde (“food”), Swedish föda (“food”), Icelandic fæða, fæði (“food”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌳𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (fōdeins, “food”), Latin pānis (“bread, food”), Latin pāscō (“feed, nourish”, verb). Related to fodder, foster.

Synonyms

Synonyms: see Thesaurus:foodbelly-timberchowcomestibleeatsfeedfodderfoodstuffgrubnoshnourishmentprovenderscransustenancevictualsalimentbaitcomestiblescuisineeatablesediblesfoodstuffsfoodkaimealsmeatmunchablenibblesnosebagom nom nomprovisionsrationsstodgetiffintuckertuckviandsvittles

This word in other languages

alimento(Español)nourriture(Français)Nahrung(Deutsch)comida(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffood,fod,fodo,foodd,ofod

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ffood1fod1fodo2foodd1ofod2
Edit distance from "food"

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 "food"?
"food" is spelled F-O-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /fuːd/.
What does "food" mean?
As a noun, "food" means: Any solid substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life.
What words are commonly confused with "food"?
"food" is commonly confused with "for", "fox", "fro". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "food"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "food" is /fuːd/. 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 "food"?
From Middle English fode, foode, from Old English fōda (“food”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdō, from Proto-Germanic *fōdô (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Cognate with Scots fuid (“food”), Low German föde, vöde... 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.

Using “food”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is F-O-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /fuːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “for” - see the side-by-side comparison. food vs for
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list