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” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #386. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#386
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any solid substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life.

Corpus desk

Index EN-food · food · English

food · rank #386 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #386
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH death

Nearest frequency peer: death (-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 “food”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “food” 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).

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)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “food”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).foodlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “death” (#385), “guy” (#387), “control” (#384). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “food” is #386. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around food (IPA /fuːd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #386 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The innkeeper brought them food and drink.
  2. “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

body#382true#393mind#378fuck#396

Similar misspelling depth

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

lost5 variantselse5 variantspost5 variantshope5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list