forthwith
/fɔːθˈwɪð/
"forthwith" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“forthwith” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #44,210 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #44,210
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Without delay; immediately.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | forthwith |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /fɔːθˈwɪð/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #44,210 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “forthwith” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for forthwith is 9 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fɔːθˈwɪð/. Corpus data places it at rank #44,210 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Without delay; immediately.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for forthwith, with forms such as "fforthwith", "forhtwith", and "forrthwith". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forth-with (“at once, immediately; at the same time, already; straight ahead”) [and other forms], partly from the phrase forth with (something), and partly from forth-with-al, furth-with-al (“at once, immediately; together with”) (whence… The correct English form is forthwith, spelled F-O-R-T-H-W-I-T-H.
Definition
- 1Without delay; immediately.
Etymology
From Middle English forth-with (“at once, immediately; at the same time, already; straight ahead”) [and other forms], partly from the phrase forth with (something), and partly from forth-with-al, furth-with-al (“at once, immediately; together with”) (whence forthwithal).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: fforthwith,forhtwith,forrthwith,forthhwith,forthiwth,forthwiht,forthwithh,forthwitth,forthwtih,forthwwith,fortthwith,fortwhith,fotrhwith,frothwith,ofrthwith
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of forthwith - 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.
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 "forthwith"?
What does "forthwith" mean?
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Using “forthwith”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-T-H-W-I-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /fɔːθˈwɪð/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.