English Word Reference Free

globe

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "globe", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "globe" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "globe" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

globe is aEnglishnoun. It means: Any spherical (or nearly spherical) object. Pronounced /ɡləʊb/. It ranks #4,451 in English word frequency. Often confused with gob and gone.

Key facts for globe
PropertyValue
Headwordglobe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡləʊb/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,451
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of globe in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for globe is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡləʊb/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,451 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for globe, with forms such as "gglobe", "glboe", and "gllobe". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "gob", "gone", "glow", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From late Middle English globe, from Middle French globe, from Old French globe, borrowed from Latin globus. Doublet of globus. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is globe, spelled G-L-O-B-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any spherical (or nearly spherical) object.
  2. 2
    Any spherical (or nearly spherical) object.
  3. 3
    The planet Earth.
  4. 4
    A spherical model of Earth or other planet.
  5. 5
    A light bulb.
  6. 6
    A circular military formation used in Ancient Rome, corresponding to the modern infantry square.
  7. 7
    A woman's breast or buttock, whichever is more prominent.
  8. 8
    A group.
  9. 9
    A land snail of the genus Mesodon.

Etymology

From late Middle English globe, from Middle French globe, from Old French globe, borrowed from Latin globus. Doublet of globus.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: gglobe,glboe,gllobe,globbe,gloeb,golbe,lgobe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for globe

Misspelling Variants of "globe"

gglobe6glboe5gllobe6globbe6gloeb5golbe5lgobe5
Misspelling Variants of "globe"

Frequency rank: #4,451 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "globe"?
"globe" is spelled G-L-O-B-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡləʊb/.
What does "globe" mean?
As a noun, "globe" means: Any spherical (or nearly spherical) object.
What words are commonly confused with "globe"?
"globe" is commonly confused with "gob", "gone", "glow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "globe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "globe" is /ɡləʊb/. 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 "globe"?
From late Middle English globe, from Middle French globe, from Old French globe, borrowed from Latin globus. Doublet of globus. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter G in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.