inn

/ɪn/

//ɪn// noun

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

"inn" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“inn” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #6,369) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#6,369
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any establishment where travellers can procure lodging, food, and drink.

Corpus desk

Index EN-inn · inn · English

inn · rank #6,369 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,369
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH ink

Nearest frequency peer: ink (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “inn”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “inn” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

inn vs is
33% similar
inn vs it
33% similar
inn vs IV
0% similar

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

Key facts for inn
PropertyValue
Headwordinn
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#6,369
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “inn”

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).innlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ink” (#6,368), “intel” (#6,370), “inhabitants” (#6,367). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “inn” is #6,369. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for inn is neighbouring look-alikes ("is", "it", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ɪn/. Frequency #6,369 among 2,140 “I” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for inn in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "is", "it", "IV", 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 in, inn, from Old English inn (“a dwelling, house, chamber, lodging”); akin to Icelandic inni (“a dwelling place, home, abode”), Faroese inni (“home”). The correct English form is inn, spelled I-N-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any establishment where travellers can procure lodging, food, and drink.
  2. 2
    A tavern.
  3. 3
    One of the colleges (societies or buildings) in London, for students of the law barristers.
  4. 4
    The town residence of a nobleman or distinguished person.
  5. 5
    A place of shelter; hence, dwelling, residence, abode.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [H]ow much more agreeable to himself to get into snug quarters in a chateau, [...] rather than take up with the miserable lodgement, and miserable fare of a country inn.
  2. One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.

Etymology

From Middle English in, inn, from Old English inn (“a dwelling, house, chamber, lodging”); akin to Icelandic inni (“a dwelling place, home, abode”), Faroese inni (“home”).

This word in other languages

posada(Español)auberge(Français)Herberge(Deutsch)pousada(Português)

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 "inn"?
"inn" is spelled I-N-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪn/.
What does "inn" mean?
As a noun, "inn" means: Any establishment where travellers can procure lodging, food, and drink.
What words are commonly confused with "inn"?
"inn" is commonly confused with "is", "it", "IV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "inn"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "inn" is /ɪn/. 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 "inn"?
From Middle English in, inn, from Old English inn (“a dwelling, house, chamber, lodging”); akin to Icelandic inni (“a dwelling place, home, abode”), Faroese inni (“home”). 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 "inn", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ink#6,368PhD#6,395bio#6,335toe#6,424

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list