nightly

/ˈnaɪtli/

//ˈnaɪtli// adj

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

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

The verdict

“nightly” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,454. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,454
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Happening or appearing in the night; night-time; nocturnal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nightly · nightly · English

nightly · rank #15,454 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,454
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Natasha

Nearest frequency peer: Natasha (-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 “nightly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nightly” 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).

nightly vs nights
71% similar
nightly vs night
71% similar
nightly vs nighter
71% similar

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

Key facts for nightly
PropertyValue
Headwordnightly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈnaɪtli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,454
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nightly”

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).nightlylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Natasha” (#15,453), “noir” (#15,455), “Naruto” (#15,452). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nightly” is #15,454. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around nightly (IPA /ˈnaɪtli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #15,454 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for nightly, with forms such as "inghtly", "ngihtly", and "nigghtly". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "nights", "night", "nighter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nyȝtly, nihtlich, nihtlic, from Old English nihtlīċ, nihtelīċ (“nocturnal, nightly, of the night, at night”), equivalent to night + -ly. Cognate with Scots nichtlie (“nightly”), West Frisian nachtlik (“nightly, nocturnal”), Dutch nachtel… The correct English form is nightly, spelled N-I-G-H-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Happening or appearing in the night; night-time; nocturnal.
  2. 2
    Performing, occurring, or taking place every night.
  3. 3
    Used in the night.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. nightly dews
  2. A cobweb spread above a blossom Is sufficient to protect It from nightly chill.

Etymology

From Middle English nyȝtly, nihtlich, nihtlic, from Old English nihtlīċ, nihtelīċ (“nocturnal, nightly, of the night, at night”), equivalent to night + -ly. Cognate with Scots nichtlie (“nightly”), West Frisian nachtlik (“nightly, nocturnal”), Dutch nachtelijk (“nightly, nocturnal”), German nächtlich (“nocturnal, nightly”), Danish natlig (“nightly”), Swedish nattlig (“nightly, nocturnal”).

This word in other languages

nocturno(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inghtly
  • ngihtly
  • nigghtly
  • nighhtly
  • nighlty
  • nightlly
  • nightlyy
  • nighttly
  • nightyl
  • nigthly
  • nihgtly
  • nnightly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

inghtly2ngihtly2nigghtly1nighhtly1nighlty2nightlly1nightlyy1nighttly1
Edit distance from "nightly"

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 "nightly"?
"nightly" is spelled N-I-G-H-T-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnaɪtli/.
What does "nightly" mean?
As an adjective, "nightly" means: Happening or appearing in the night; night-time; nocturnal.
What words are commonly confused with "nightly"?
"nightly" is commonly confused with "nights", "night", "nighter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nightly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nightly" is /ˈnaɪtli/. 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 "nightly"?
From Middle English nyȝtly, nihtlich, nihtlic, from Old English nihtlīċ, nihtelīċ (“nocturnal, nightly, of the night, at night”), equivalent to night + -ly. Cognate with Scots nichtlie (“nightly”), West Frisian nachtlik (“nightly, nocturnal”), Dut... 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 "nightly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Natasha#15,453Michele#15,450Krishna#15,444patrols#15,467

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Kathryn12 variantsinducing12 variantspodcasts12 variantspostpone12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list