news

/njuːz/

//njuːz// noun

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

"news" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“news” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #350. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#350
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - New information of interest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-news · news · English

news · rank #350 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #350
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH means

Nearest frequency peer: means (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “news”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “news” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

news vs now
50% similar
news vs NHS
0% similar
news vs NSW
0% similar

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

Key facts for news
PropertyValue
Headwordnews
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/njuːz/
Letters4
Frequency rank#350
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “news”

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).newslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “means” (#349), “within” (#351), “least” (#348). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “news” is #350. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around news (IPA /njuːz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #350 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for news, with forms such as "enws", "nesw", and "newss". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "now", "NHS", "NSW", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English newes, newys (“new things”), equivalent to new (noun) + -s (plural suffix). Compare Saterland Frisian Näis (“news”), East Frisian näjs (“news”), West Frisian nijs (“news”), Dutch nieuws (“news”), German Low German Neeis (“new things; new… The correct English form is news, spelled N-E-W-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    New information of interest.
  2. 2
    Information about current events disseminated by the media.
  3. 3
    Messages posted on newsgroups.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Is there any news about the storm?
  2. That was not much news in the press release.

Etymology

From Middle English newes, newys (“new things”), equivalent to new (noun) + -s (plural suffix). Compare Saterland Frisian Näis (“news”), East Frisian näjs (“news”), West Frisian nijs (“news”), Dutch nieuws (“news”), German Low German Neeis (“new things; news”), though, unlike the English word, those cognates originated as genitives, not as plurals. Sometimes erroneously claimed to be an acronym of "North, East, West, South" or "Noteworthy Events, Weather, Sports".

This word in other languages

noticias(Español)nouvelles(Français)Neuigkeiten(Deutsch)notícias(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • enws
  • nesw
  • newss
  • newws
  • nnews
  • nwes

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of news - 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.

enws2nesw2newss1newws1nnews1nwes2
Edit distance from "news"

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 "news"?
"news" is spelled N-E-W-S. The IPA pronunciation is /njuːz/.
What does "news" mean?
As a noun, "news" means: New information of interest.
What words are commonly confused with "news"?
"news" is commonly confused with "now", "NHS", "NSW". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "news"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "news" is /njuːz/. 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 "news"?
From Middle English newes, newys (“new things”), equivalent to new (noun) + -s (plural suffix). Compare Saterland Frisian Näis (“news”), East Frisian näjs (“news”), West Frisian nijs (“news”), Dutch nieuws (“news”), German Low German Neeis (“new t... 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 "news", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

able#352book#353hope#346I'll#356

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

kind6 variantsvideo6 variantstalk6 variantsfact6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list