issue

/ˈɪʃuː/

//ˈɪʃuː// noun

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

"issue" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“issue” sits in 10 confusable pairs (corpus #589) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#589
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow

Corpus desk

Index EN-issue · issue · English

issue · rank #589 · 4 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #589
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH hear

Nearest frequency peer: hear (-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 “issue”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “issue” 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).

issue vs isu
60% similar
issue vs issues
83% similar
issue vs issued
83% similar

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

Key facts for issue
PropertyValue
Headwordissue
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪʃuː/
Letters5
Frequency rank#589
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “issue”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).issuelands 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 “hear” (#588), “played” (#590), “force” (#587). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “issue” is #589. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for issue is neighbouring look-alikes ("isu", "issues", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈɪʃuː/. Frequency #589 among 2,140 “I” headwords. 37 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for issue, with forms such as "isseu", "isue", and "isuse". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "isu", "issues", "issued", 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 issue, from Old French issue (“an exit, a way out”), feminine past participle of issir (“to exit”), from Latin exeō (“go out, exit”), from prefix ex- (“out”) + eō (“go”). The legal meaning originated from the concept of "the end or resul… The correct English form is issue, spelled I-S-S-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow
  2. 2
    The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow
  3. 3
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  4. 4
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  5. 5
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  6. 6
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  7. 7
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  8. 8
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  9. 9
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  10. 10
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  11. 11
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  12. 12
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  13. 13
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  14. 14
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  15. 15
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  16. 16
    Someone or something that flows out or comes out
  17. 17
    The means or opportunity by which something flows or comes out, particularly
  18. 18
    The means or opportunity by which something flows or comes out
  19. 19
    The place where something flows or comes out, an outlet
  20. 20
    The place where something flows or comes out, an outlet
  21. 21
    The action or an instance of sending something out, particularly
  22. 22
    The action or an instance of sending something out
  23. 23
    The action or an instance of sending something out
  24. 24
    The action or an instance of sending something out
  25. 25
    The action or an instance of sending something out
  26. 26
    Any question or situation to be resolved, particularly
  27. 27
    Any question or situation to be resolved
  28. 28
    Any question or situation to be resolved
  29. 29
    Any question or situation to be resolved
  30. 30
    Any question or situation to be resolved
  31. 31
    The action or an instance of concluding something
  32. 32
    The action or an instance of concluding something
  33. 33
    The end result of an event or events, any result or outcome, particularly
  34. 34
    The end result of an event or events, any result or outcome
  35. 35
    The end result of an event or events, any result or outcome
  36. 36
    The action or an instance of feeling some emotion.
  37. 37
    The action or an instance of leaving any state or condition.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The technique minimizes the issue of blood from the incision.
  2. And behold, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelue yeeres, came behinde him [Jesus], and touched the hemme of his garment.

Etymology

From Middle English issue, from Old French issue (“an exit, a way out”), feminine past participle of issir (“to exit”), from Latin exeō (“go out, exit”), from prefix ex- (“out”) + eō (“go”). The legal meaning originated from the concept of "the end or result of pleadings in a suit (by presenting the point to be determined by trial)," leading to the sense of "the controversy over facts in a trial" (early 14th century, Anglo-French). This later extended to mean "a point of contention between two parties" (early 15th century) and more generally, "an important point to be decided" (1836). Consequently, the verbal phrase take issue with emerged in 1797 (preceded by join issue in the 1690s), meaning "to adopt an affirmative or negative stance in a dispute with another." The expression to have issues, meaning "to have unresolved conflicts," dates back to 1990.

Synonyms

sortiesallychargedescendantfruit of one's loinsoffspring

This word in other languages

flujo(Español)sortie(Français)Ausgehen(Deutsch)fluxo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isseu
  • isue
  • isuse
  • sisue

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of issue - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

isseu2isue1isuse2sisue2
Edit distance from "issue"

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 "issue"?
"issue" is spelled I-S-S-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪʃuː/.
What does "issue" mean?
As a noun, "issue" means: The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow
What words are commonly confused with "issue"?
"issue" is commonly confused with "isu", "issues", "issued". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "issue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "issue" is /ˈɪʃuː/. 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 "issue"?
From Middle English issue, from Old French issue (“an exit, a way out”), feminine past participle of issir (“to exit”), from Latin exeō (“go out, exit”), from prefix ex- (“out”) + eō (“go”). The legal meaning originated from the concept of "the en... 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 "issue", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

force#587price#592fight#585shows#597

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list