ides

/aɪdz/

//aɪdz// noun

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

The verdict

“ides” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #44,856 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#44,856
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The notional full-moon day of a Roman month, occurring on the 15th day of the four original 31-day months (March, May, Quintilis or July, and October) and on the 13th day of all other months.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

ides vs is
50% similar
ides vs its
50% similar
ides vs IDK
0% similar

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

Key facts for ides
PropertyValue
Headwordides
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/aɪdz/
Letters4
Frequency rank#44,856
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ides” 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). ides 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 ides is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /aɪdz/. Corpus data places it at rank #44,856 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The notional full-moon day of a Roman month, occurring on the 15th day of the four original 31-day months (March, May, Quintilis or July, and October) and on the 13th day of all other months.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for ides, with forms such as "iddes", "idess", and "idse". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "is", "its", "IDK", 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 ides, idus, from Anglo-Norman and Old French ides, from Latin īdūs, a fourth-declension plurale tantum, from the Latin practice of treating most recurring calendrical days as plurals. The Latin term is cognate with Oscan eiduis, both per… The correct English form is ides, spelled I-D-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The notional full-moon day of a Roman month, occurring on the 15th day of the four original 31-day months (March, May, Quintilis or July, and October) and on the 13th day of all other months.

Etymology

From Middle English ides, idus, from Anglo-Norman and Old French ides, from Latin īdūs, a fourth-declension plurale tantum, from the Latin practice of treating most recurring calendrical days as plurals. The Latin term is cognate with Oscan eiduis, both perhaps deriving from an unknown Etruscan term. Middle English and Old French also used the singular form ide.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: iddes,idess,idse,ieds

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iddes1idess1idse2ieds2
Edit distance from "ides"

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 "ides"?
"ides" is spelled I-D-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /aɪdz/.
What does "ides" mean?
As a noun, "ides" means: The notional full-moon day of a Roman month, occurring on the 15th day of the four original 31-day months (March, May, Quintilis or July, and October) and on the 13th day of all other months.
What words are commonly confused with "ides"?
"ides" is commonly confused with "is", "its", "IDK". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ides"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ides" is /aɪdz/. 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 "ides"?
From Middle English ides, idus, from Anglo-Norman and Old French ides, from Latin īdūs, a fourth-declension plurale tantum, from the Latin practice of treating most recurring calendrical days as plurals. The Latin term is cognate with Oscan eiduis... 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 “ides”

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

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