interest

/ˈɪn.tɹɛst/

//ˈɪn.tɹɛst// noun

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

"interest" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“interest” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #695. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#695
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-interest · interest · English

interest · rank #695 · 12 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #695
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH guess

Nearest frequency peer: guess (-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 neighbourhood for “interest”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “interest” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

interest vs internet
75% similar
interest vs interests
89% similar
interest vs intersect
78% similar

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

Key facts for interest
PropertyValue
Headwordinterest
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪn.tɹɛst/
Letters8
Frequency rank#695
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “interest” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).interestlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “guess” (#694), “July” (#696), “gone” (#693). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around interest (IPA /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #695 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for interest, with forms such as "inetrest", "innterest", and "inteerst". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "internet", "interests", "intersect", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse. The correct English form is interest, spelled I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed.
  2. 2
    Any excess over and above an exact equivalent
  3. 3
    A great attention and concern from someone or something; intellectual curiosity.
  4. 4
    Attention that is given to or received from someone or something.
  5. 5
    An involvement, claim, right, share, stake in or link with a financial, business, or other undertaking or endeavor.
  6. 6
    Something which, or someone whom, one is interested in.
  7. 7
    Condition or quality of exciting concern or being of importance.
  8. 8
    Injury, or compensation for injury; damages.
  9. 9
    The persons and companies interested in any particular business or measure, taken collectively.
  10. 10
    A genre of factual short films, generally more amusing than informative, especially those not covered by a more specific genre label.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Our bank offers borrowers an annual interest of 5%.
  2. You shall have your desires with interest

Etymology

From Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse.

Synonyms

cost of moneyoker

This word in other languages

interés(Español)intérêt(Français)Zinsen(Deutsch)interesse(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inetrest
  • innterest
  • inteerst
  • interesst
  • interestt
  • interets
  • interrest
  • interset
  • intreest
  • intterest
  • itnerest
  • niterest

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

inetrest2innterest1inteerst2interesst1interestt1interets2interrest1interset2
Edit distance from "interest"

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 "interest"?
"interest" is spelled I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/.
What does "interest" mean?
As a noun, "interest" means: The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed.
What words are commonly confused with "interest"?
"interest" is commonly confused with "internet", "interests", "intersect". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "interest"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "interest" is /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/. 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 "interest"?
From Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse. 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 "interest", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wouldn't#686training#684original#716received#720

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

director12 variantsevidence12 variantssecurity12 variantspersonal12 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "interest". Here's where to go from here.

  • "interest" maps to 8 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "internet". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #695 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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