gathering
/ˈɡæð.ə.ɹɪŋ/
"gathering" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gathering” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,675 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,675
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A meeting or get-together; a party or social function.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gathering |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡæð.ə.ɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #4,675 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gathering” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gathering is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɡæð.ə.ɹɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,675 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for gathering, with forms such as "agthering", "gahtering", and "gatehring". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English gadering, from Old English gaderung (“gathering, assembly”), equivalent to gather + -ing (verbal noun ending). The correct English form is gathering, spelled G-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1A meeting or get-together; a party or social function.
- 2A group of people or things.
- 3A section, a group of bifolios, or sheets of paper, stacked together and folded in half.
- 4A charitable contribution; a collection.
- 5The collection of produce, items, goods, etc.; the practice of collecting food from nature.
- 6A tumor or boil suppurated or maturated; an abscess.
Etymology
From Middle English gadering, from Old English gaderung (“gathering, assembly”), equivalent to gather + -ing (verbal noun ending).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: agthering,gahtering,gatehring,gatheirng,gatherign,gatheringg,gatherinng,gathernig,gatherring,gathhering,gathreing,gatthering,ggathering,gtahering
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gathering - 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 "gathering"?
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Using “gathering”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡæð.ə.ɹɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.