further
/ˈfɜː.ðə/
"further" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“further” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #490. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #490
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To help forward; to assist.
Corpus desk
Index EN-further · further · English
further · rank #490 · 11 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #490
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH form
Nearest frequency peer: form (-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 “further”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- check
check
99,514 corpus weight
- development
development
99,513 corpus weight
- form
form
99,512 corpus weight
- further
further
99,511 corpus weight
- heart
heart
99,510 corpus weight
- minutes
minutes
99,509 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “further” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | further |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈfɜː.ðə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #490 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “further” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around further (IPA /ˈfɜː.ðə/), averb. Corpus frequency is #490 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for further, with forms such as "ffurther", "fruther", and "furhter". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "furthest", "father", "farther", 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 further, forther, from Old English forþor, furþor (“further”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *furþer, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (a common preposition), equivalent to fore + -ther (a vestigial comparative ending still present in s… The correct English form is further, spelled F-U-R-T-H-E-R.
Definition
- 1To help forward; to assist.
- 2To encourage growth; to support progress or growth of something; to promote.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how further appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In happie houre we haue ſet the Crowne Upon your Kingly head, that ſeeks our honor, In ioyning with the man, ordain’d by heauen To further euerie action to the beſt.
Upon this he brought me a cotton bag and giving it to me, said, "Take this bag and fill it with pebbles from the beach and go forth with a company of the townsfolk to whom I will give a charge respecting thee. Do as they do and belike thou shalt gain what may further thy return voyage to thy native land."
Etymology
From Middle English further, forther, from Old English forþor, furþor (“further”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *furþer, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (a common preposition), equivalent to fore + -ther (a vestigial comparative ending still present in such words as other, either, whether, and, in altered form, in after); or as sometimes stated, as forth + -er. Cognate with Scots forder, furder (“further”), Saterland Frisian foarder (“further”), West Frisian fierder (“further”), Dutch verder (“further”), German fürder (“further”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ffurther
- fruther
- furhter
- furrther
- furtehr
- furtherr
- furthher
- furthre
- furtther
- futrher
- ufrther
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of further - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "further", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "further". Here's where to go from here.
- "further" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "furthest". View pair
- 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #490 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.