gratuity
/ɡɹəˈtjuːətɪ/
"gratuity" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gratuity” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #44,818 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #44,818
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An additional payment given freely as thanks for service.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gratuity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɡɹəˈtjuːətɪ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #44,818 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gratuity” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gratuity is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹəˈtjuːətɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #44,818 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for gratuity, with forms such as "gartuity", "ggratuity", and "gratiuty". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "gravity", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French gratuité (from Old French gratuite) or directly from Medieval Latin gratuitas (“a free gift”), from Latin gratuitus (“freely given, free”); see gratuitous. The correct English form is gratuity, spelled G-R-A-T-U-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1An additional payment given freely as thanks for service.
- 2Euphemistic form of fee, in contexts where such additional payments have been made obligatory.
- 3Euphemistic form of bribe.
Etymology
From Middle French gratuité (from Old French gratuite) or directly from Medieval Latin gratuitas (“a free gift”), from Latin gratuitus (“freely given, free”); see gratuitous.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: gartuity,ggratuity,gratiuty,grattuity,gratuitty,gratuityy,gratuiyt,gratutiy,grautity,grratuity,grtauity,rgatuity
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gratuity - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "gratuity"?
What does "gratuity" mean?
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Using “gratuity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-A-T-U-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɹəˈtjuːətɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “gravity” - see the side-by-side comparison. gratuity vs gravity
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.