gangster
/ˈɡæ̞ŋ.stə/
"gangster" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gangster” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,921. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #13,921
- frequency rank, English
- 18,276
- “G” headwords
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A member of a criminal or street gang.
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 | gangster |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡæ̞ŋ.stə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #13,921 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gangster” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 13 spelling variants around gangster (IPA /ˈɡæ̞ŋ.stə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,921 among 18,276 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for gangster, with forms such as "agngster", "gagnster", and "ganggster". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "gangsta", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From gang + -ster. First attested in 1884. The correct English form is gangster, spelled G-A-N-G-S-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A member of a criminal or street gang.
- 2A member of a professional criminal organization (in organized crime): a racketeer.
Etymology
From gang + -ster. First attested in 1884.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- agngster
- gagnster
- ganggster
- gangsetr
- gangsster
- gangsterr
- gangstre
- gangstter
- gangtser
- ganngster
- gansgter
- ggangster
- gnagster
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gangster - 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.
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 "gangster"?
What does "gangster" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “gangster”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-A-N-G-S-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡæ̞ŋ.stə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “gangsta” - see the side-by-side comparison. gangster vs gangsta
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.