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full

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

4 characters

Language

English

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "full", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "full" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "full" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

full is anEnglishadj. It means: Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available. Pronounced /fʊl/. It ranks #262 in English word frequency. Often confused with fun and fur.

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

Frequency rank visualization

Position of full in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for full is 4 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fʊl/. Corpus data places it at rank #262 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 19 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for full, with forms such as "ffull", "flul", and "ful". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fun", "fur", "fut", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

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, … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is full, spelled F-U-L-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

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.

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

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffull,flul,ful,ufll

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for full

Misspelling Variants of "full"

ffull5flul4ful3ufll4
Misspelling Variants of "full"

Frequency rank: #262 in English

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 adj, "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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter F in our English index:

All "F" wordsABCDEFGHIJKL

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.