guide
/ɡaɪd/
"guide" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“guide” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,829 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,829
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone who guides, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation, or to lead them through dangerous terrain.
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 | guide |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɡaɪd/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #1,829 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “guide” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for guide is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡaɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,829 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for guide, with forms such as "gguide", "giude", and "gudie". 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, "guilt", "guild", "guise", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: c. 1325–75. From Middle English guide, from the Old French guide, from Old Occitan guida, from guidar, from Frankish *wītan (“to show the way, lead”), from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“to see, know; go, depart”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”)… The correct English form is guide, spelled G-U-I-D-E.
Definition
- 1Someone who guides, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation, or to lead them through dangerous terrain.
- 2A document or book that offers information or instruction; guidebook.
- 3A sign that guides people; guidepost.
- 4Any marking or object that catches the eye to provide quick reference.
- 5Synonym of legend, a key to symbols, abbreviations, and terms on a map, chart, etc.
- 6A device that guides part of a machine, or guides motion or action.
- 7A device that guides part of a machine, or guides motion or action.
- 8A device that guides part of a machine, or guides motion or action.
- 9A spirit believed to speak through a medium.
- 10A member of a group marching in formation who sets the pattern of movement or alignment for the rest.
Etymology
c. 1325–75. From Middle English guide, from the Old French guide, from Old Occitan guida, from guidar, from Frankish *wītan (“to show the way, lead”), from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“to see, know; go, depart”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”). Cognate with Old English wītan (“to see, take heed to, watch after, guard, keep”). Related also to English wit.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: gguide,giude,gudie,guidde,guied,ugide
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of guide - 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
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Using “guide”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-U-I-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡaɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “guilt” - see the side-by-side comparison. guide vs guilt
- 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.