in ruins

prep_phrase

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

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

The verdict

“in ruins” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of a building or structure, mostly destroyed.

Key facts for in ruins
PropertyValue
Headwordin ruins
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “in ruins” sits in English frequency

in ruins falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

in ruins is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

in ruins doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is in ruins, spelled I-N- -R-U-I-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a building or structure, mostly destroyed.
  2. 2
    Of a person, attribute, relationship, etc., totally damaged or spoiled.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "in ruins"?
"in ruins" is spelled I-N- -R-U-I-N-S.
What does "in ruins" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "in ruins" means: Of a building or structure, mostly destroyed.
What language does "in ruins" come from?
"in ruins" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “in ruins”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is I-N- -R-U-I-N-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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