further
/ˈfɜː.ðə/
"further" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“further” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #490 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #490
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To help forward; to assist.
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
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for further is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɜː.ðə/. Corpus data places it at rank #490 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “further”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-U-R-T-H-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɜː.ðə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “furthest” - see the side-by-side comparison. further vs furthest
- 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.