game

/ɡeɪm/

//ɡeɪm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“game” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #182. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#182
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A playful or competitive activity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-game · game · English

game · rank #182 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #182
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH during

Nearest frequency peer: during (-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 “game”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “game” 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 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

game vs GM
0% similar
game vs ge
50% similar
game vs gas
50% similar

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

Key facts for game
PropertyValue
Headwordgame
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡeɪm/
Letters4
Frequency rank#182
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “game” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).gamelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “during” (#181), “I've” (#183), “under” (#180). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around game (IPA /ɡeɪm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #182 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 21 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for game, with forms such as "agme", "gaem", and "gamme". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GM", "ge", "gas", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English game, gamen, gammen, from Old English gamen (“sport, joy, mirth, pastime, game, amusement, pleasure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (“amusement, pleasure, game", literally "participation, communion, people… The correct English form is game, spelled G-A-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A playful or competitive activity.
  2. 2
    A playful or competitive activity.
  3. 3
    A playful or competitive activity.
  4. 4
    A playful or competitive activity.
  5. 5
    A playful or competitive activity.
  6. 6
    A playful or competitive activity.
  7. 7
    A playful or competitive activity.
  8. 8
    A playful or competitive activity.
  9. 9
    A playful or competitive activity.
  10. 10
    A playful or competitive activity.
  11. 11
    A field of gainful activity, as an industry or profession.
  12. 12
    A field of gainful activity, as an industry or profession.
  13. 13
    Something that resembles a game with rules, despite not being designed.
  14. 14
    An exercise simulating warfare, whether computerized or involving human participants.
  15. 15
    A questionable or unethical practice in pursuit of a goal.
  16. 16
    Wild animals hunted for food.
  17. 17
    The ability to seduce or woo someone, usually by strategy.
  18. 18
    Lovemaking, flirtation.
  19. 19
    Prostitution. (Now chiefly in on the game.)
  20. 20
    Mastery; the ability to excel at something.
  21. 21
    Diversion, entertainment.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Being a child is all fun and games.
  2. Games in the classroom can make learning fun.

Etymology

From Middle English game, gamen, gammen, from Old English gamen (“sport, joy, mirth, pastime, game, amusement, pleasure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (“amusement, pleasure, game", literally "participation, communion, people together”), from *ga- (collective prefix) + *mann- (“man”); or alternatively from *ga- + a root from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think, have in mind”). Cognate with Yola gaame, gaaume, gaume (“game”), Old Frisian game, gome (“joy, amusement, entertainment”), Dutch gemelijk (“cantankerous, crabbed”), Middle High German gamen (“joy, amusement, fun, pleasure”), Danish gammen (“merriment”), Icelandic, Norwegian Nynorsk gaman (“joy, fun”), Swedish gamman (“mirth, rejoicing, merriment”). Related to gammon, gamble.

Synonyms

game

This word in other languages

juego(Español)jeu(Français)Spiel(Deutsch)jogo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • agme
  • gaem
  • gamme
  • ggame
  • gmae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of game - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

agme2gaem2gamme1ggame1gmae2
Edit distance from "game"

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 "game"?
"game" is spelled G-A-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡeɪm/.
What does "game" mean?
As a noun, "game" means: A playful or competitive activity.
What words are commonly confused with "game"?
"game" is commonly confused with "GM", "ge", "gas". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "game"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "game" is /ɡeɪm/. 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 "game"?
From Middle English game, gamen, gammen, from Old English gamen (“sport, joy, mirth, pastime, game, amusement, pleasure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (“amusement, pleasure, game", literally "participation, communi... 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 "game", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

I've#183give#185does#177next#190

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

each5 variantsfeel5 variantspart5 variantssure5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "game". Here's where to go from here.

  • "game" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "GM". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #182 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "G" letter cohort. G–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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list