greedy

/ˈɡɹiːdi/

//ˈɡɹiːdi// adj

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

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

The verdict

“greedy” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,376. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,376
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having greed; consumed by selfish desires.

Corpus desk

Index EN-greedy · greedy · English

greedy · rank #10,376 · 9 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,376
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gown

Nearest frequency peer: gown (-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 “greedy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “greedy” 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).

greedy vs grey
67% similar
greedy vs green
67% similar
greedy vs Greek
50% similar

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

Key facts for greedy
PropertyValue
Headwordgreedy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɡɹiːdi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,376
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “greedy”

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).greedylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “gown” (#10,375), “halo” (#10,377), “Hilton” (#10,378). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “greedy” is #10,376. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around greedy (IPA /ˈɡɹiːdi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #10,376 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for greedy, with forms such as "geredy", "ggreedy", and "gredey". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "grey", "green", "Greek", 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 gredy, from Anglian Old English grēdiġ (“greedy, hungry, eager”) (cognate West Saxon form grǣdiġ), from Proto-Germanic *grēdagaz (“hungry”), from Proto-Germanic *grēdaz, *grēduz, *grēdô (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer-. Equiva… The correct English form is greedy, spelled G-R-E-E-D-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having greed; consumed by selfish desires.
  2. 2
    Prone to overeat.
  3. 3
    Tending to match as much text as possible.
  4. 4
    That tries to find the global optimum by finding the local optimum at each stage.
  5. 5
    Greedily sought or pursued.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe Champions broke on them, that forſt the fly, / Like ſcattered Sheepe, whenas the Shepherds ſwaine / A Lyon and a Tigre doth eſpye, / With greedy pace forth ruſhing from the foreſt nye.
  2. “[…] Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing. Oh, dear, there's so much to tell you, so many warnings to give you, but all that must be postponed for the moment.”

Etymology

From Middle English gredy, from Anglian Old English grēdiġ (“greedy, hungry, eager”) (cognate West Saxon form grǣdiġ), from Proto-Germanic *grēdagaz (“hungry”), from Proto-Germanic *grēdaz, *grēduz, *grēdô (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer-. Equivalent to greed + -y. Cognate with Old Saxon grādag (“greedy”), Dutch graag (“gladly, willingly”), Old High German grātag (“greedy”), Danish grådig (“greedy”), Norwegian Bokmål grådig (“greedy”) (from Old Norse gráðigr (“greedy”), gráði (“greed, hunger”)), Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍃 (grēdags, “hungry”). Sanskrit गृद्धि (gṛddhi, “greed”) is a false cognate.

Synonyms

gluttonousacquisitiveavariciouscormorantcovetousedaciousesurientgraspinggreedymiserablepiggishmiserlyrapaciousselfishsordidsharp-setvoracious

This word in other languages

codicioso(Español)avaricieux(Français)gierig(Deutsch)avaro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • geredy
  • ggreedy
  • gredey
  • gredy
  • greeddy
  • greedyy
  • greeyd
  • grreedy
  • rgeedy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of greedy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

geredy2ggreedy1gredey2gredy1greeddy1greedyy1greeyd2grreedy1
Edit distance from "greedy"

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 "greedy"?
"greedy" is spelled G-R-E-E-D-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɹiːdi/.
What does "greedy" mean?
As an adjective, "greedy" means: Having greed; consumed by selfish desires.
What words are commonly confused with "greedy"?
"greedy" is commonly confused with "grey", "green", "Greek". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "greedy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "greedy" is /ˈɡɹiːdi/. 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 "greedy"?
From Middle English gredy, from Anglian Old English grēdiġ (“greedy, hungry, eager”) (cognate West Saxon form grǣdiġ), from Proto-Germanic *grēdagaz (“hungry”), from Proto-Germanic *grēdaz, *grēduz, *grēdô (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰe... 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 "greedy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Hilton#10,378gallon#10,369finite#10,365eighty#10,356

Similar misspelling depth

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

Mohammed9 variantsmortar9 variantsmyths9 variantsNorton9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list