growl

/ɡɹaʊl/

//ɡɹaʊl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“growl” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,179 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#24,179
frequency rank, English
5
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A deep, rumbling, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

growl vs grown
80% similar
growl vs grows
80% similar
growl vs growth
67% similar

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

Key facts for growl
PropertyValue
Headwordgrowl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɹaʊl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#24,179
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “growl” 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). growl 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 growl is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹaʊl/. Corpus data places it at rank #24,179 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for growl, with forms such as "ggrowl", "gorwl", and "grolw". 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, "grown", "grows", "growth", 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 groulen, grollen, gurlen (“of the bowels: to growl, rumble”), either possibly from Old French groler (variant of croler (“to be agitated, shake”)), grouler, grouller (“to growl, grumble”), from Frankish *grullen, *gruljan or from Old Eng… The correct English form is growl, spelled G-R-O-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A deep, rumbling, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal.
  2. 2
    A similar sound made by a human.
  3. 3
    The rumbling sound made by a human's hungry stomach.
  4. 4
    An aggressive grumbling.
  5. 5
    A low-pitched rumbling sound produced with a wind instrument.
  6. 6
    Death growl

Etymology

From Middle English groulen, grollen, gurlen (“of the bowels: to growl, rumble”), either possibly from Old French groler (variant of croler (“to be agitated, shake”)), grouler, grouller (“to growl, grumble”), from Frankish *grullen, *gruljan or from Old English gryllan, both from Proto-Germanic *gruljaną (“to make a sound; to growl, grumble, rumble”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to make a noise; to mumble, murmur; to rattle; to grind; to rub, stroke”), probably ultimately imitative. The word is cognate with Middle Dutch grollen (“to make a noise; to croak, grumble, murmur; to be angry”) (modern Dutch grollen (“to grumble”)), German grollen (“to rumble; to be angry, bear ill will”), Old English grillan, griellan (“to provoke, offend; to gnash the teeth”). Compare grill. The noun is derived from the verb.

This word in other languages

rugido(Español)feulement(Français)Knurren(Deutsch)ronco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ggrowl,gorwl,grolw,growll,growwl,grrowl,grwol,rgowl

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ggrowl1gorwl2grolw2growll1growwl1grrowl1grwol2rgowl2
Edit distance from "growl"

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 "growl"?
"growl" is spelled G-R-O-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹaʊl/.
What does "growl" mean?
As a noun, "growl" means: A deep, rumbling, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal.
What words are commonly confused with "growl"?
"growl" is commonly confused with "grown", "grows", "growth". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "growl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "growl" is /ɡɹaʊl/. 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 "growl"?
From Middle English groulen, grollen, gurlen (“of the bowels: to growl, rumble”), either possibly from Old French groler (variant of croler (“to be agitated, shake”)), grouler, grouller (“to growl, grumble”), from Frankish *grullen, *gruljan or fr... 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 “growl”

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

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