misdeed
/mɪsˈdiːd/
"misdeed" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“misdeed” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That which was done that should not have been, ranging from any sin or moral offense to various degrees of crime.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | misdeed |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /mɪsˈdiːd/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “misdeed” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for misdeed is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mɪsˈdiːd/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "That which was done that should not have been, ranging from any sin or moral offense to various degrees of crime.".
No misspelling variants are generated for misdeed in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English misdede, from Old English misdǣd (“misdeed”), from Proto-West Germanic *missadādi, from Proto-Germanic *missadēdiz (“misdeed”); equivalent to mis- + deed. Cognate with Scots misded (“misdeed”), West Frisian misdied (“misdeed”), Dutch mis… The correct English form is misdeed, spelled M-I-S-D-E-E-D.
Definition
- 1That which was done that should not have been, ranging from any sin or moral offense to various degrees of crime.
Etymology
From Middle English misdede, from Old English misdǣd (“misdeed”), from Proto-West Germanic *missadādi, from Proto-Germanic *missadēdiz (“misdeed”); equivalent to mis- + deed. Cognate with Scots misded (“misdeed”), West Frisian misdied (“misdeed”), Dutch misdaad (“misdeed”), German Missetat (“misdeed”), Swedish missdåd (“misdeed”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍃𐌰𐌳𐌴𐌸𐍃 (missadēþs, “misdeed”).
This word in other languages
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
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Using “misdeed”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-S-D-E-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /mɪsˈdiːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.