newborn

adj

"newborn" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“newborn” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,923 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#9,923
frequency rank, English
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Recently born.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

newborn vs newton
71% similar
newborn vs Newport
57% similar
newborn vs Newtown
57% similar

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

Key facts for newborn
PropertyValue
Headwordnewborn
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,923
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “newborn” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). newborn lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for newborn is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective. Corpus data places it at rank #9,923 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for newborn, with forms such as "enwborn", "nebworn", and "newbborn". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "newton", "Newport", "Newtown", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From new + born. The correct English form is newborn, spelled N-E-W-B-O-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Recently born.
  2. 2
    Born anew, reborn.

Etymology

From new + born.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: enwborn,nebworn,newbborn,newbonr,newbornn,newborrn,newbron,newobrn,newwborn,nnewborn,nweborn

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of newborn - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

enwborn2nebworn2newbborn1newbonr2newbornn1newborrn1newbron2newobrn2
Edit distance from "newborn"

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 "newborn"?
"newborn" is spelled N-E-W-B-O-R-N.
What does "newborn" mean?
As an adjective, "newborn" means: Recently born.
What words are commonly confused with "newborn"?
"newborn" is commonly confused with "newton", "Newport", "Newtown". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "newborn"?
From new + born. 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.

Using “newborn”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is N-E-W-B-O-R-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “newton” - see the side-by-side comparison. newborn vs newton
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list