oath

/ˈəʊθ/

//ˈəʊθ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“oath” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,587. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,587
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-oath · oath · English

oath · rank #7,587 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,587
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH nominee

Nearest frequency peer: nominee (-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 “oath”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “oath” 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).

oath vs OH
0% similar
oath vs OT
0% similar
oath vs out
50% similar

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

Key facts for oath
PropertyValue
Headwordoath
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈəʊθ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#7,587
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “oath”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).oathlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “nominee” (#7,586), “Mumbai” (#7,585), “packaging” (#7,589). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “oath” is #7,587. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around oath (IPA /ˈəʊθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,587 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for oath, with forms such as "aoth", "oaht", and "oathh". 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, "OH", "OT", "out", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ooth, oth, ath, from Old English āþ (“oath”), from Proto-West Germanic *aiþ (“oath”), from Proto-Germanic *aiþaz (“oath”). Cognate with Scots aith, athe (“oath”), North Frisian ith, iss (“oath”), Saterland Frisian Eed (“oath”), West Fris… The correct English form is oath, spelled O-A-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise.
  2. 2
    A statement or promise which is strengthened (affirmed) by such a pledge.
  3. 3
    A light, irreverent or insulting appeal to a deity or other entity.
  4. 4
    A curse, a curse word.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. take an oath
  2. swear an oath

Etymology

From Middle English ooth, oth, ath, from Old English āþ (“oath”), from Proto-West Germanic *aiþ (“oath”), from Proto-Germanic *aiþaz (“oath”). Cognate with Scots aith, athe (“oath”), North Frisian ith, iss (“oath”), Saterland Frisian Eed (“oath”), West Frisian eed (“oath”), Dutch eed (“oath”), German Eid (“oath”), Swedish ed (“oath”), Icelandic eið (“oath”), Latin ūtor (“make use of, employ, avail”, verb), Old Irish óeth (“oath”).

Synonyms

pledgevowavowal

This word in other languages

juramento(Español)serment(Français)Eid(Deutsch)juramento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aoth
  • oaht
  • oathh
  • oatth
  • otah

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of oath - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aoth2oaht2oathh1oatth1otah2
Edit distance from "oath"

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 "oath"?
"oath" is spelled O-A-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈəʊθ/.
What does "oath" mean?
As a noun, "oath" means: A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise.
What words are commonly confused with "oath"?
"oath" is commonly confused with "OH", "OT", "out". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "oath"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "oath" is /ˈəʊθ/. 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 "oath"?
From Middle English ooth, oth, ath, from Old English āþ (“oath”), from Proto-West Germanic *aiþ (“oath”), from Proto-Germanic *aiþaz (“oath”). Cognate with Scots aith, athe (“oath”), North Frisian ith, iss (“oath”), Saterland Frisian Eed (“oath”),... 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 "oath", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

melt#7,582Sara#7,605eyed#7,562stir#7,614

Similar misspelling depth

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

dame5 variantstoes5 variantsunto5 variantsRico5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list