neg
/nɛɡ/
"neg" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“neg” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,260 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,260
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Clipping of negative.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | neg |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /nɛɡ/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #36,260 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “neg” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for neg is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /nɛɡ/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,260 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for neg in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NJ", "ni", "Ng", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of negative. The correct English form is neg, spelled N-E-G.
Definition
- 1Clipping of negative.
- 2Clipping of negative.
- 3An expression or implication that one has a negative value judgement of someone in order to make them desire one's approval, especially when trying to pick up a date.
- 4a penalty for giving an incorrect answer before a tossup has been fully read.
Etymology
Clipping of negative.
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
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Using “neg”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-E-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /nɛɡ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “NJ” - see the side-by-side comparison. neg vs NJ
- 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.