grew

/ɡɹuː/

//ɡɹuː// verb

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

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

The verdict

“grew” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,072. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,072
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past of grow

Corpus desk

Index EN-grew · grew · English

grew · rank #2,072 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,072
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH expensive

Nearest frequency peer: expensive (-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 “grew”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “grew” 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).

grew vs GRU
0% similar
grew vs gro
50% similar
grew vs grr
50% similar

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

Key facts for grew
PropertyValue
Headwordgrew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɡɹuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,072
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “grew”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “expensive” (#2,071), “historical” (#2,073), “domestic” (#2,070). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “grew” is #2,072. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around grew (IPA /ɡɹuː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,072 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for grew, with forms such as "gerw", "ggrew", and "greww". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GRU", "gro", "grr", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English grew, from Old English grēow (first and third person past tense of grōwan), from West Germanic *greu, from Northwest Germanic *grerō, from Proto-Germanic *gegrō (first and third person past tense of *grōaną), reduplication of *grōaną. The correct English form is grew, spelled G-R-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past of grow
  2. 2
    past participle of grow

Etymology

From Middle English grew, from Old English grēow (first and third person past tense of grōwan), from West Germanic *greu, from Northwest Germanic *grerō, from Proto-Germanic *gegrō (first and third person past tense of *grōaną), reduplication of *grōaną.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • gerw
  • ggrew
  • greww
  • grrew
  • grwe
  • rgew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

gerw2ggrew1greww1grrew1grwe2rgew2
Edit distance from "grew"

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 "grew"?
"grew" is spelled G-R-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹuː/.
What does "grew" mean?
As a verb, "grew" means: simple past of grow
What words are commonly confused with "grew"?
"grew" is commonly confused with "GRU", "gro", "grr". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "grew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grew" is /ɡɹuː/. 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 "grew"?
From Middle English grew, from Old English grēow (first and third person past tense of grōwan), from West Germanic *greu, from Northwest Germanic *grerō, from Proto-Germanic *gegrō (first and third person past tense of *grōaną), reduplication of *... 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 "grew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

debt#2,069jump#2,078sets#2,088wins#2,056

Similar misspelling depth

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

Asian6 variantstrees6 variantsocean6 variantsfilled6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list