husband

/ˈhʌz.bənd/

//ˈhʌz.bənd// noun

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

"husband" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“husband” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,080 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,080
frequency rank, English
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A man in a marriage or marital relationship, especially in relation to his spouse.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

husband vs husbands
88% similar
husband vs husbandry
78% similar
husband vs Hubbard
57% similar

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

Key facts for husband
PropertyValue
Headwordhusband
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhʌz.bənd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,080
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “husband” 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). husband 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 husband is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhʌz.bənd/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,080 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for husband, with forms such as "hhusband", "hsuband", and "hubsand". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "husbands", "husbandry", "Hubbard", 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 husbonde, from Old English hūsbonda (“head of household”), from Old Norse húsbóndi, from hús + bóndi, corresponding to Proto-Germanic *hūsą (“house”) and *būandz (“dwelling, residing”, present participle). Compare English house and bond³. The correct English form is husband, spelled H-U-S-B-A-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A man in a marriage or marital relationship, especially in relation to his spouse.
  2. 2
    A manager of property; one who has the care of another's belongings, owndom, or interests; a steward; an economist.
  3. 3
    A prudent or frugal manager.
  4. 4
    The master of a house; the head of a family; a householder.
  5. 5
    A tiller of the ground; a husbandman.
  6. 6
    The male of a pair of animals.
  7. 7
    A large cushion with arms meant to support a person in the sitting position.
  8. 8
    A polled tree; a pollard.

Etymology

From Middle English husbonde, from Old English hūsbonda (“head of household”), from Old Norse húsbóndi, from hús + bóndi, corresponding to Proto-Germanic *hūsą (“house”) and *būandz (“dwelling, residing”, present participle). Compare English house and bond³.

Synonyms

baronhis lordshiphubbyhusbandlord and masterold man

Antonyms

wife

This word in other languages

marido(Español)mari(Français)Ehemann(Deutsch)marido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hhusband,hsuband,hubsand,husabnd,husbadn,husbandd,husbannd,husbband,husbnad,hussband,uhsband

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hhusband1hsuband2hubsand2husabnd2husbadn2husbandd1husbannd1husbband1
Edit distance from "husband"

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 "husband"?
"husband" is spelled H-U-S-B-A-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhʌz.bənd/.
What does "husband" mean?
As a noun, "husband" means: A man in a marriage or marital relationship, especially in relation to his spouse.
What words are commonly confused with "husband"?
"husband" is commonly confused with "husbands", "husbandry", "Hubbard". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "husband"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "husband" is /ˈhʌz.bənd/. 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 "husband"?
From Middle English husbonde, from Old English hūsbonda (“head of household”), from Old Norse húsbóndi, from hús + bóndi, corresponding to Proto-Germanic *hūsą (“house”) and *būandz (“dwelling, residing”, present participle). Compare English house... 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 “husband”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is H-U-S-B-A-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈhʌz.bənd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “husbands” - see the side-by-side comparison. husband vs husbands
  • 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