grave

/ɡɹeɪv/

//ɡɹeɪv// noun

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

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

The verdict

“grave” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,239 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,239
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An excavation in the earth as a place of burial.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

grave vs GRE
0% similar
grave vs gray
60% similar
grave vs grove
80% similar

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

Key facts for grave
PropertyValue
Headwordgrave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɹeɪv/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,239
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “grave” 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). grave lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for grave is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹeɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,239 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for grave, with forms such as "garve", "ggrave", and "graev". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GRE", "gray", "grove", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English grave, grafe, from Old English græf, grafu (“cave, grave, trench”), from Proto-West Germanic *grab, from Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō (“grave, trench, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with … The correct English form is grave, spelled G-R-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An excavation in the earth as a place of burial.
  2. 2
    Any place of interment.
  3. 3
    Any place containing one or more corpses.
  4. 4
    Death, destruction.
  5. 5
    Deceased people; the dead.

Etymology

From Middle English grave, grafe, from Old English græf, grafu (“cave, grave, trench”), from Proto-West Germanic *grab, from Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō (“grave, trench, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with West Frisian grêf (“grave”), Dutch graf (“grave”), Low German Graf (“a grave”), Graff, German Grab (“grave”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian grav (“grave”), Icelandic gröf (“grave”). Related to groove.

Synonyms

grievous

This word in other languages

sepultura(Español)tombe(Français)Grab(Deutsch)cova(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: garve,ggrave,graev,gravve,grrave,grvae,rgave

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

garve2ggrave1graev2gravve1grrave1grvae2rgave2
Edit distance from "grave"

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 "grave"?
"grave" is spelled G-R-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹeɪv/.
What does "grave" mean?
As a noun, "grave" means: An excavation in the earth as a place of burial.
What words are commonly confused with "grave"?
"grave" is commonly confused with "GRE", "gray", "grove". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "grave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grave" is /ɡɹeɪv/. 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 "grave"?
From Middle English grave, grafe, from Old English græf, grafu (“cave, grave, trench”), from Proto-West Germanic *grab, from Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō (“grave, trench, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cog... 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.

Using “grave”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-R-A-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɡɹeɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “GRE” - see the side-by-side comparison. grave vs GRE
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list