grade

/ɡɹeɪd/

//ɡɹeɪd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“grade” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,660. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,660
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A rating.

Corpus desk

Index EN-grade · grade · English

grade · rank #1,660 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,660
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH engineering

Nearest frequency peer: engineering (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “grade”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “grade” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

grade vs GRE
0% similar
grade vs gray
60% similar
grade vs grid
60% similar

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

Key facts for grade
PropertyValue
Headwordgrade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɹeɪd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,660
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “grade” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around grade (IPA /ɡɹeɪd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,660 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 15 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for grade, with forms such as "garde", "ggrade", and "gradde". 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, "GRE", "gray", "grid", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French grade (“a grade, degree”), from Latin gradus (“a step, pace, degree”), from Proto-Italic *graðus, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Doublet of gradus. Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade… The correct English form is grade, spelled G-R-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rating.
  2. 2
    Performance on a test or other evaluation(s), expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol; a score.
  3. 3
    A degree or level of something; a position within a scale; a degree of quality.
  4. 4
    Degree (any of the three stages (positive, comparative, superlative) in the comparison of an adjective or an adverb).
  5. 5
    A slope (up or down) of a roadway or other passage
  6. 6
    A level of primary and secondary education.
  7. 7
    A student of a particular grade (used with the grade level).
  8. 8
    An area that has been flattened by a grader (construction machine).
  9. 9
    The level of the ground.
  10. 10
    A gradian.
  11. 11
    In a linear system of divisors on an n-dimensional variety, the number of free intersection points of n generic divisors.
  12. 12
    A harsh scraping or cutting; a grating.
  13. 13
    A taxon united by a level of morphological or physiological complexity that is not a clade.
  14. 14
    The degree of malignity of a tumor expressed on a scale.
  15. 15
    An eyeglass prescription.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This fine-grade coin from 1837 is worth a good amount.
  2. He got a good grade on the test.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French grade (“a grade, degree”), from Latin gradus (“a step, pace, degree”), from Proto-Italic *graðus, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Doublet of gradus. Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”), Lithuanian gri̇̀diju (“to go, wander”).

Synonyms

paraphyletic groupgradient

This word in other languages

puntuación(Español)mention(Français)Note(Deutsch)nota(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • garde
  • ggrade
  • gradde
  • graed
  • grdae
  • grrade
  • rgade

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grade - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

garde2ggrade1gradde1graed2grdae2grrade1rgade2
Edit distance from "grade"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "grade"?
"grade" is spelled G-R-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹeɪd/.
What does "grade" mean?
As a noun, "grade" means: A rating.
What words are commonly confused with "grade"?
"grade" is commonly confused with "GRE", "gray", "grid". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "grade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grade" is /ɡɹeɪd/. 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 "grade"?
Borrowed from Middle French grade (“a grade, degree”), from Latin gradus (“a step, pace, degree”), from Proto-Italic *graðus, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Doublet of gradus. Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “s... 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 "grade", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

adult#1,654weird#1,653waste#1,652stone#1,676

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

prime7 variantswinner7 variantsbasis7 variantsagent7 variants
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list