gerund
/ˈd͡ʒɛɹənd/
"gerund" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gerund” is uncommon English (frequency #91,560 among 18,276 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #91,560
- frequency rank, English
- 18,276
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A verbal form that functions as a verbal noun. (In English, a gerund has the same spelling as a present participle, but functions differently; however, this distinction may be ambiguous or unclear ...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gerund |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈd͡ʒɛɹənd/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #91,560 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gerund” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
gerund is uncommon English at frequency #91,560 among 18,276 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈd͡ʒɛɹənd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for gerund, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin gerundium, from gerendus (“which is to be carried out”), future passive participle (gerundive) of gerō (“carry, bear”). The correct English form is gerund, spelled G-E-R-U-N-D.
Definition
- 1A verbal form that functions as a verbal noun. (In English, a gerund has the same spelling as a present participle, but functions differently; however, this distinction may be ambiguous or unclear and so is no longer made in some modern texts such as A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language and The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language)
- 2In some languages such as Dutch, Italian or Russian, a verbal form similar to a present participle, but functioning as an adverb to form adverbial phrases or continuous tense. These constructions have various names besides gerund, depending on the language, such as conjunctive participles, active participles, adverbial participles, transgressives, etc.
Etymology
From Latin gerundium, from gerendus (“which is to be carried out”), future passive participle (gerundive) of gerō (“carry, bear”).
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 “gerund”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-E-R-U-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈd͡ʒɛɹənd/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.