golden

/ˈɡəʊl.dən/

//ˈɡəʊl.dən// adj

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

"golden" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“golden” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,156. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,156
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Made of, or relating to, gold.

Corpus desk

Index EN-golden · golden · English

golden · rank #2,156 · 9 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,156
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH feed

Nearest frequency peer: feed (-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 “golden”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “golden” 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).

golden vs golds
67% similar
golden vs goode
67% similar
golden vs golem
67% similar

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

Key facts for golden
PropertyValue
Headwordgolden
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɡəʊl.dən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,156
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “golden”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).goldenlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “feed” (#2,155), “grant” (#2,157), “factor” (#2,154). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “golden” is #2,156. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around golden (IPA /ˈɡəʊl.dən/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,156 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for golden, with forms such as "ggolden", "gloden", and "godlen". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "golds", "goode", "golem", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English golden, a restored form (due to the noun gold) of earlier Middle English gulden, gylden, gilden ("golden"; > English gilden), from Old English gylden (“golden”), from Proto-West Germanic *gulþīn, from Proto-Germanic *gulþīnaz (“golden, m… The correct English form is golden, spelled G-O-L-D-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Made of, or relating to, gold.
  2. 2
    Having a color or other richness suggestive of gold.
  3. 3
    Of a beverage, flavoured or colored with turmeric.
  4. 4
    Marked by prosperity, creativity etc.
  5. 5
    Advantageous or very favourable.
  6. 6
    Relating to a fiftieth anniversary.
  7. 7
    Relating to the elderly or retired.
  8. 8
    Fine, without problems.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how golden appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She wore a golden crown.
  2. And now the concern which Partridge felt at being obliged to quit the warm chimney-corner, and a cup of excellent liquor, was somewhat compensated by hearing that he was to proceed no farther on foot, for Jones, by golden arguments, had prevailed with the boy to attend him back to the inn whither he had before conducted Sophia […]

Etymology

From Middle English golden, a restored form (due to the noun gold) of earlier Middle English gulden, gylden, gilden ("golden"; > English gilden), from Old English gylden (“golden”), from Proto-West Germanic *gulþīn, from Proto-Germanic *gulþīnaz (“golden, made of gold”), equivalent to gold + -en. Cognate with Dutch gouden, gulden (“golden”), German gülden, golden (“golden”), Danish gylden (“golden”). Doublet of gilden. More at gold.

Synonyms

goldish § Synonyms

This word in other languages

áureo(Español)d'or(Français)golden(Deutsch)dourado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggolden
  • gloden
  • godlen
  • goldden
  • goldenn
  • goldne
  • goledn
  • gollden
  • oglden

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of golden - 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.

ggolden1gloden2godlen2goldden1goldenn1goldne2goledn2gollden1
Edit distance from "golden"

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 "golden"?
"golden" is spelled G-O-L-D-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡəʊl.dən/.
What does "golden" mean?
As an adjective, "golden" means: Made of, or relating to, gold.
What words are commonly confused with "golden"?
"golden" is commonly confused with "golds", "goode", "golem". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "golden"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "golden" is /ˈɡəʊl.dən/. 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 "golden"?
From Middle English golden, a restored form (due to the noun gold) of earlier Middle English gulden, gylden, gilden ("golden"; > English gilden), from Old English gylden (“golden”), from Proto-West Germanic *gulþīn, from Proto-Germanic *gulþīnaz (... 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 "golden", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

factor#2,154hoping#2,160device#2,150lawyer#2,162

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Boston9 variantsMuslim9 variantstaught9 variantsshared9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list