gas
/ɡæs/
"gas" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gas” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,051 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,051
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can ...
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 | gas |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɡæs/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #1,051 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gas” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gas is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡæs/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,051 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
gas has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "go", "GM", "GB", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Dutch gas, coined by chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont in Ortus Medicinae. Derived from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “chasm, void, empty space”); perhaps also inspired by geest (“breath, vapour, spirit”). Doublet of chaos. First attested in 1648. The correct English form is gas, spelled G-A-S.
Definition
- 1Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition.
- 2Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition.
- 3Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition.
- 4A chemical element or compound in such a state.
- 5A hob on a gas cooker.
- 6Methane or other waste gases trapped in one's belly as a result of the digestive process; flatus.
- 7The supply of natural gas, as a utility.
- 8A humorous or entertaining event, person, or thing.
- 9Frothy or boastful talk; chatter.
- 10A fastball.
- 11Arterial or venous blood gas.
Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch gas, coined by chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont in Ortus Medicinae. Derived from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “chasm, void, empty space”); perhaps also inspired by geest (“breath, vapour, spirit”). Doublet of chaos. First attested in 1648.
This word in other languages
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 “gas”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-A-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡæs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “go” - see the side-by-side comparison. gas vs go
- 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.