number
/ˈnʌmbər/
"number" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“number” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #216. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #216
- frequency rank, English
- 1,534
- “N” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Quantity.
Corpus desk
Index EN-number · number · English
number · rank #216 · 9 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #216
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,534
- PHOTO-FINISH left
Nearest frequency peer: left (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “number”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- someone
someone
99,788 corpus weight
- away
away
99,787 corpus weight
- left
left
99,786 corpus weight
- number
number
99,785 corpus weight
- city
city
99,784 corpus weight
- days
days
99,783 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “number” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | number |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈnʌmbər/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #216 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “number” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around number (IPA /ˈnʌmbər/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #216 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 17 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for number, with forms such as "nmuber", "nnumber", and "nubmer". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "nutter", "Numbers", "numbered", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English number, nombre, numbre, noumbre, from Anglo-Norman noumbre, Old French nombre, from Latin numerus (“number”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem- (“to divide”). Compare Saterland Frisian Nummer, Nuumer, West Frisian nûmer, Dutch nu… The correct English form is number, spelled N-U-M-B-E-R.
Definition
- 1Quantity.
- 2An abstract entity used to describe quantity.
- 3A numeral: a symbol for a non-negative integer.
- 4An element of one of several sets: natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, real numbers, complex numbers, and sometimes extensions such as hypercomplex numbers, etc.
- 5Indicating the position of something in a list or sequence. Abbreviations: No or No., no or no. (in each case, sometimes written with a superscript "o", like Nº or №). The symbol "#" is also used in this manner.
- 6A sequence of digits and letters used to register people, automobiles, and various other items.
- 7A telephone number.
- 8Of a word or phrase, the state of being singular, dual or plural, shown by inflection.
- 9Poetic metres; verses, rhymes.
- 10A performance; especially, a single song or song and dance routine within a larger show.
- 11A group of people.
- 12A person.
- 13An outfit, particularly a stylish one.
- 14A marijuana cigarette, or joint; also, a quantity of marijuana bought from a dealer.
- 15An issue of a periodical publication.
- 16A large amount, in contrast to a smaller amount; numerical preponderance.
- 17An activity; assignment; job, as in cushy number.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how number appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Any number of people can be reading from a given repository at a time.
There are, in addition to all the red socks, a number that don’t suit me either.
Etymology
From Middle English number, nombre, numbre, noumbre, from Anglo-Norman noumbre, Old French nombre, from Latin numerus (“number”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem- (“to divide”). Compare Saterland Frisian Nummer, Nuumer, West Frisian nûmer, Dutch nummer (“number”), German Nummer (“number”), Danish nummer (“number”), Swedish nummer (“number”), Icelandic númer (“number”). Replaced Middle English ȝetæl and rime, more at tell, tale and rhyme.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- nmuber
- nnumber
- nubmer
- numbber
- numberr
- numbre
- numebr
- nummber
- unmber
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of number - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "number"?
What does "number" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "number"?
How do you pronounce "number"?
What is the origin of the word "number"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "number", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "number". Here's where to go from here.
- "number" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "nutter". View pair
- 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #216 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "N" letter cohort. N–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.