gadget
/ɡæd͡ʒ.ɪt/
"gadget" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gadget” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,029 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,029
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A thing whose name cannot be remembered; thingamajig, doohickey.
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 | gadget |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɡæd͡ʒ.ɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #16,029 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gadget” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gadget is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡæd͡ʒ.ɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,029 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for gadget, with forms such as "agdget", "gaddget", and "gadegt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "gage", "gauge", "garnet", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unknown. First used in print by Robert Brown in 1886 (see quote in definition section). Might come from French gâchette or gagée, or from the French family name Gaget, an industrialist who produced promotional gadgets in collaboration with the project to bu… The correct English form is gadget, spelled G-A-D-G-E-T.
Definition
- 1A thing whose name cannot be remembered; thingamajig, doohickey.
- 2Any device or machine, especially one whose name cannot be recalled, often either clever or complicated.
- 3Any consumer electronics product.
- 4A sequence of machine code instructions crafted as part of an exploit that attempts to divert execution to a memory location chosen by the attacker.
- 5A technique for converting a part of one problem to an equivalent part of another problem, used in constructing reductions.
- 6A spring clip attached to the end of a punty in order to grasp the foot of a glass without leaving a bullion while finishing the bowl.
Etymology
Unknown. First used in print by Robert Brown in 1886 (see quote in definition section). Might come from French gâchette or gagée, or from the French family name Gaget, an industrialist who produced promotional gadgets in collaboration with the project to build the statue of Liberty.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: agdget,gaddget,gadegt,gadgett,gadgget,gadgte,gagdet,gdaget,ggadget
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gadget - 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.
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 "gadget"?
What does "gadget" mean?
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Using “gadget”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-A-D-G-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡæd͡ʒ.ɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “gage” - see the side-by-side comparison. gadget vs gage
- 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.