frog

/fɹɒɡ/

//fɹɒɡ// noun

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

The verdict

“frog” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,426 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,426
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of a class of small tailless amphibians of the order Anura that typically hop.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

frog vs fry
50% similar
frog vs from
75% similar
frog vs fung
50% similar

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

Key facts for frog
PropertyValue
Headwordfrog
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɹɒɡ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#8,426
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “frog” 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). frog 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 frog is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fɹɒɡ/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,426 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for frog, with forms such as "ffrog", "forg", and "frgo". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fry", "from", "fung", 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 frogge, from Old English frocga, from Proto-West Germanic *froggō (“frog”). Cognate with Old Norse frauki, and Old English frox, frosc, whence Modern English frosh and frosk (“frog”). Possibly related to Saterland Frisian Poage (“frog”),… The correct English form is frog, spelled F-R-O-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of a class of small tailless amphibians of the order Anura that typically hop.
  2. 2
    The part of a violin bow (or that of other similar string instruments such as the viola, cello and contrabass) located at the end held by the player, to which the horsehair is attached.
  3. 3
    Synonym of road; clipping of less common frog and toad.
  4. 4
    The depression in the upper face of a pressed or handmade clay brick.
  5. 5
    An organ on the bottom of a horse’s hoof that assists in the circulation of blood.
  6. 6
    The part of a railway switch or turnout where the running rails cross (from the resemblance to the frog in a horse’s hoof).
  7. 7
    The part of a railroad overhead wire used to redirect a trolley pole from one wire to another at switches.
  8. 8
    A type of fishing lure that resembles a frog.
  9. 9
    Defector: politician who switches to a different political party.

Etymology

From Middle English frogge, from Old English frocga, from Proto-West Germanic *froggō (“frog”). Cognate with Old Norse frauki, and Old English frox, frosc, whence Modern English frosh and frosk (“frog”). Possibly related to Saterland Frisian Poage (“frog”), German Low German Pogg, Pogge (“frog”). Sense 5 (organ on a horse's hoof) is a calque of Ancient Greek βάτραχος (bátrakhos).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffrog,forg,frgo,frogg,frrog,rfog

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of frog - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffrog1forg2frgo2frogg1frrog1rfog2
Edit distance from "frog"

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 "frog"?
"frog" is spelled F-R-O-G. The IPA pronunciation is /fɹɒɡ/.
What does "frog" mean?
As a noun, "frog" means: Any of a class of small tailless amphibians of the order Anura that typically hop.
What words are commonly confused with "frog"?
"frog" is commonly confused with "fry", "from", "fung". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "frog"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "frog" is /fɹɒɡ/. 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 "frog"?
From Middle English frogge, from Old English frocga, from Proto-West Germanic *froggō (“frog”). Cognate with Old Norse frauki, and Old English frox, frosc, whence Modern English frosh and frosk (“frog”). Possibly related to Saterland Frisian Poage... 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 “frog”

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

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