goth

/ɡɒθ/

//ɡɒθ// noun

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

"goth" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“goth” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,529. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,529
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goth · goth · English

goth · rank #21,529 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,529
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH glorified

Nearest frequency peer: glorified (-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 “goth”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “goth” 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).

goth vs gut
50% similar
goth vs GTA
0% similar
goth vs GST
0% similar

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

Key facts for goth
PropertyValue
Headwordgoth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɒθ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#21,529
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “goth”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).gothlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “glorified” (#21,528), “gracefully” (#21,530), “glam” (#21,527). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “goth” is #21,529. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around goth (IPA /ɡɒθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,529 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for goth, with forms such as "ggoth", "goht", and "gothh". 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, "gut", "GTA", "GST", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From gothic rock, first used by John Stickney in reference to The Doors in 1967 and used by the late 1970s to describe the musical scene that gave rise to the goth subculture, both from a supposed aesthetic similarity to dark and moody 19th century gothic f… The correct English form is goth, spelled G-O-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes.
  2. 2
    A style of punk rock influenced by glam rock; gothic rock.
  3. 3
    A person who is part of the goth subculture.
  4. 4
    Rare form of Goth.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I think that goth could flower in nerdcore's embrace. I converted Edward Gorey's lettering into a typeface, befriended vampires on LJ and MySpace, even put that spooky echo filter on the bass[…]
  2. Philip has been into goth for many years, haven't you dear?

Etymology

From gothic rock, first used by John Stickney in reference to The Doors in 1967 and used by the late 1970s to describe the musical scene that gave rise to the goth subculture, both from a supposed aesthetic similarity to dark and moody 19th century gothic fiction and earlier gothic art and architecture, from Late Latin gothicus (“Gothic, barbaric”), from Ancient Greek Γοτθικός (Gotthikós), from Ancient Greek Γότθοι (Gótthoi, “Goths”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”), proposed to derive from unattested Gothic *𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌰 (*guta).

This word in other languages

gótico(Español)gothique(Français)Grufti(Deutsch)gótico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggoth
  • goht
  • gothh
  • gotth
  • gtoh
  • ogth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ggoth1goht2gothh1gotth1gtoh2ogth2
Edit distance from "goth"

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 "goth"?
"goth" is spelled G-O-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɒθ/.
What does "goth" mean?
As a noun, "goth" means: A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes.
What words are commonly confused with "goth"?
"goth" is commonly confused with "gut", "GTA", "GST". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "goth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "goth" is /ɡɒθ/. 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 "goth"?
From gothic rock, first used by John Stickney in reference to The Doors in 1967 and used by the late 1970s to describe the musical scene that gave rise to the goth subculture, both from a supposed aesthetic similarity to dark and moody 19th centur... 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 "goth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

glam#21,527Herr#21,537IMDb#21,544dung#21,502

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Healy6 variantshorde6 variantsemoji6 variantsEiffel6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list