full

/fʊl/

//fʊl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“full” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #262) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#262
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available.

Corpus desk

Index EN-full · full · English

full · rank #262 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #262
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH everything

Nearest frequency peer: everything (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “full”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “full” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

full vs fun
50% similar
full vs fur
50% similar
full vs fut
50% similar

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

Key facts for full
PropertyValue
Headwordfull
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/fʊl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#262
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “full” 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). full lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for full is neighbouring look-alikes ("fun", "fur", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /fʊl/. Frequency #262 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 19 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for full, with forms such as "ffull", "flul", and "ful". 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, "fun", "fur", "fut", 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 ful, from Old English full (“full”), from Proto-West Germanic *full, from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (“full”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Germanic cognates include West Frisian fol, Low German vull, Dutch vol, German voll, … The correct English form is full, spelled F-U-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available.
  2. 2
    Complete; with nothing omitted.
  3. 3
    Complete; with nothing omitted.
  4. 4
    Complete; with nothing omitted.
  5. 5
    Total, entire.
  6. 6
    Completely empowered, authorized or qualified (in some role); not limited.
  7. 7
    Having eaten to satisfaction, having a "full" stomach; replete.
  8. 8
    Replete, abounding with.
  9. 9
    Carrying as much as possible.
  10. 10
    Plump, round.
  11. 11
    Having its entire face illuminated.
  12. 12
    Of a size that is ample, wide, or having ample folds or pleats to be comfortable.
  13. 13
    Having depth and body; rich.
  14. 14
    Having the mind filled with ideas; stocked with knowledge; stored with information.
  15. 15
    Having the attention, thoughts, etc., absorbed in any matter, and the feelings more or less excited by it.
  16. 16
    Filled with emotions.
  17. 17
    Impregnated; made pregnant.
  18. 18
    Said of the three cards of the same rank in a full house.
  19. 19
    Drunk, intoxicated.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The jugs were full to the point of overflowing.
  2. Our book gives full treatment to the subject of angling.

Etymology

From Middle English ful, from Old English full (“full”), from Proto-West Germanic *full, from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (“full”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Germanic cognates include West Frisian fol, Low German vull, Dutch vol, German voll, Danish fuld, and Norwegian and Swedish full (the latter three via Old Norse). Proto-Indo-European cognates include English plenty (via Latin, compare plēnus), Welsh llawn, Russian по́лный (pólnyj), Lithuanian pilnas, Persian پر (por), Sanskrit पूर्ण (pūrṇá). See also fele and Scots fou (whence the English doublet fou (“drunk”)). For the "drunk, intoxicated" sense, compare also Swedish full and other Scandinavian languages.

Synonyms

aboundingbrimfulburstingchock-a-blockchock-fullfull upfull to burstingfull to overflowingjam fulljammedjam-packedladenloadedoverflowingpackedrammedstuffedpregnantcompletethoroughentiretotalgluttedgorgedsatedsatiatesatiatedsatisfiedstuffedbaggybiglargelooseoutsizedoversizedvoluminousdrunk

Antonyms

emptyincompletepartialemptyhungrystarvingclose-fittingsmalltighttight-fitting

This word in other languages

lleno(Español)plein(Français)voll(Deutsch)cheio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffull
  • flul
  • ful
  • ufll

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of full - 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.

ffull1flul2ful1ufll2
Edit distance from "full"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "full"?
"full" is spelled F-U-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /fʊl/.
What does "full" mean?
As an adjective, "full" means: Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available.
What words are commonly confused with "full"?
"full" is commonly confused with "fun", "fur", "fut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "full"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "full" is /fʊl/. 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 "full"?
From Middle English ful, from Old English full (“full”), from Proto-West Germanic *full, from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (“full”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Germanic cognates include West Frisian fol, Low German vull, Dutch vol, Ger... 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 "full", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

live#263read#266told#268case#255
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