nigh on
"nigh-on" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nigh on” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Almost, nearly; approaching; not quite.
Corpus desk
Index EN-nigh-on · nigh on · English
nigh on · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "N" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nigh on |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “nigh on” in English
Rare enough to double-check
nigh on is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Almost, nearly; approaching; not quite.".
nigh on has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is nigh on, spelled N-I-G-H- -O-N.
Definition
- 1Almost, nearly; approaching; not quite.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how nigh on appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I had been working in this industry for nigh on twelve years when it happened.
I walked for nigh on to three hours.
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.