gland

/ɡlænd/

//ɡlænd// noun

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

"gland" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gland” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,620. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,620
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into th...

Corpus desk

Index EN-gland · gland · English

gland · rank #17,620 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,620
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gotcha

Nearest frequency peer: gotcha (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “gland”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “gland” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

gland vs glen
60% similar
gland vs grad
60% similar
gland vs gran
60% similar

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

Key facts for gland
PropertyValue
Headwordgland
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡlænd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,620
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gland”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).glandlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “gotcha” (#17,621), “Gemini” (#17,618), “GST” (#17,622). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gland” is #17,620. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around gland (IPA /ɡlænd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,620 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for gland, with forms such as "galnd", "ggland", and "gladn". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "glen", "grad", "gran", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late 17th century borrowing from French glande, alteration of Old French glandre, from Latin glandulae (“throat glands, tonsils”), plural of glandula (“a little acorn”), from glāns (“an acorn”) + -ula (diminutive nominal suffix). The correct English form is gland, spelled G-L-A-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland).
  2. 2
    A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland).
  3. 3
    A secretory structure on the surface of an organ.

Etymology

Late 17th century borrowing from French glande, alteration of Old French glandre, from Latin glandulae (“throat glands, tonsils”), plural of glandula (“a little acorn”), from glāns (“an acorn”) + -ula (diminutive nominal suffix).

Synonyms

gland

This word in other languages

glándula(Español)glande(Français)Drüse(Deutsch)glândula(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • galnd
  • ggland
  • gladn
  • glandd
  • glannd
  • glland
  • glnad
  • lgand

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gland - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

galnd2ggland1gladn2glandd1glannd1glland1glnad2lgand2
Edit distance from "gland"

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 "gland"?
"gland" is spelled G-L-A-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡlænd/.
What does "gland" mean?
As a noun, "gland" means: A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into th...
What words are commonly confused with "gland"?
"gland" is commonly confused with "glen", "grad", "gran". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gland"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gland" is /ɡlænd/. 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 "gland"?
Late 17th century borrowing from French glande, alteration of Old French glandre, from Latin glandulae (“throat glands, tonsils”), plural of glandula (“a little acorn”), from glāns (“an acorn”) + -ula (diminutive nominal suffix). 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 "gland", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ditto#17,595jumbo#17,651Kraft#17,655Louie#17,661

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Gemini8 variantsguerrilla8 variantsLatina8 variantscougar8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list