income

/ˈɪnˌkʌm/

//ˈɪnˌkʌm// noun

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

"income" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“income” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,140. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,140
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Money one earns by working or by capitalising on the work of others.

Corpus desk

Index EN-income · income · English

income · rank #1,140 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,140
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH favorite

Nearest frequency peer: favorite (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “income”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “income” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

income vs Inoue
50% similar
income vs invoke
67% similar
income vs Indore
50% similar

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

Key facts for income
PropertyValue
Headwordincome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪnˌkʌm/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,140
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “income”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).incomelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “favorite” (#1,139), “justice” (#1,141), “episode” (#1,138). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “income” is #1,140. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around income (IPA /ˈɪnˌkʌm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,140 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for income, with forms such as "icnome", "inccome", and "incmoe". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Inoue", "invoke", "Indore", 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 income, perhaps continuing (in altered form) Old English incyme (“an in-coming, entrance”), equivalent to in- + come. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Íenkúumen (“income”), West Frisian ynkommen (“income”), Dutch inkomen, inkomst (“income,… The correct English form is income, spelled I-N-C-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Money one earns by working or by capitalising on the work of others.
  2. 2
    Money coming in to a fund, account, or policy.
  3. 3
    A coming in; arrival; entrance; introduction.
  4. 4
    A newcomer or arrival; an incomer.
  5. 5
    An entrance-fee.
  6. 6
    A coming in as by influx or inspiration, hence, an inspired quality or characteristic, as courage or zeal; an inflowing principle.
  7. 7
    A disease or ailment without known or apparent cause, as distinguished from one induced by accident or contagion; an oncome.
  8. 8
    That which is taken into the body as food; the ingesta; sometimes restricted to the nutritive, or digestible, portion of the food.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how income appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The struggle with ways and means had recommenced, more difficult now a hundredfold than it had been before, because of their increasing needs. Their income disappeared as a little rivulet that is swallowed by the thirsty ground.
  2. In 1970 the richest 1 percent made 9 percent of the nation’s income; now that top slice makes closer to 25 percent.

Etymology

From Middle English income, perhaps continuing (in altered form) Old English incyme (“an in-coming, entrance”), equivalent to in- + come. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Íenkúumen (“income”), West Frisian ynkommen (“income”), Dutch inkomen, inkomst (“income, earnings, gainings”), German Low German Inkumst (“income”), German Einkommen, Einkunft (“income, earnings, competence”), Danish indkomst (“income”), Swedish inkomst (“income”), Icelandic innkváma (“income”).

Antonyms

outgo

This word in other languages

ingreso(Español)revenu(Français)Einkommen(Deutsch)renda(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • icnome
  • inccome
  • incmoe
  • incoem
  • incomme
  • inncome
  • inocme
  • nicome

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of income - 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.

icnome2inccome1incmoe2incoem2incomme1inncome1inocme2nicome2
Edit distance from "income"

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 "income"?
"income" is spelled I-N-C-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪnˌkʌm/.
What does "income" mean?
As a noun, "income" means: Money one earns by working or by capitalising on the work of others.
What words are commonly confused with "income"?
"income" is commonly confused with "Inoue", "invoke", "Indore". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "income"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "income" is /ˈɪnˌkʌm/. 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 "income"?
From Middle English income, perhaps continuing (in altered form) Old English incyme (“an in-coming, entrance”), equivalent to in- + come. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Íenkúumen (“income”), West Frisian ynkommen (“income”), Dutch inkomen, inkomst... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "income", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Canada#1,134posted#1,146safety#1,147unless#1,131

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

spend8 variantsnature8 variantsminute8 variantsauthor8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list