impact
/ˈɪmpækt/
"impact" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“impact” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,273 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,273
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The striking of one body against another; collision.
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 | impact |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪmpækt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #1,273 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “impact” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for impact is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɪmpækt/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,273 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for impact, with forms such as "imapct", "immpact", and "impacct". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "import", "intact", "impart", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the 17th century, from Latin impāctus. The correct English form is impact, spelled I-M-P-A-C-T.
Definition
- 1The striking of one body against another; collision.
- 2The force or energy of a collision of two objects.
- 3A forced impinging.
- 4A significant or strong influence or effect.
Etymology
Attested since the 17th century, from Latin impāctus.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: imapct,immpact,impacct,impactt,impatc,impcat,imppact,ipmact,mipact
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of impact - 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.
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 “impact”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-M-P-A-C-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɪmpækt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “import” - see the side-by-side comparison. impact vs import
- 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.