ongoing

adj

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

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

The verdict

“ongoing” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,177. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,177
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Continuing, permanent, lasting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ongoing · ongoing · English

ongoing · rank #4,177 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,177
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH occupied

Nearest frequency peer: occupied (-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 “ongoing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ongoing” 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).

ongoing vs outgoing
75% similar
ongoing vs oncoming
75% similar

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

Key facts for ongoing
PropertyValue
Headwordongoing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,177
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ongoing”

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).ongoinglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “occupied” (#4,176), “operator” (#4,178), “nursing” (#4,175). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ongoing” is #4,177. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around ongoing, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,177 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for ongoing, with forms such as "nogoing", "ognoing", and "onggoing". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "outgoing", "oncoming", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From on + going, related to the phrasal verb go on. The correct English form is ongoing, spelled O-N-G-O-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Continuing, permanent, lasting.
  2. 2
    Presently or currently happening; being in progress.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. "Major refurbishments will be made over the next ten years. We have nine wooden viaducts along the line - it's an ongoing programme," he says.

Etymology

From on + going, related to the phrasal verb go on.

This word in other languages

continuo(Español)continuel(Français)ständig(Deutsch)contínuo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nogoing
  • ognoing
  • onggoing
  • ongiong
  • ongoign
  • ongoingg
  • ongoinng
  • ongonig
  • onngoing
  • onoging

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nogoing2ognoing2onggoing1ongiong2ongoign2ongoingg1ongoinng1ongonig2
Edit distance from "ongoing"

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 "ongoing"?
"ongoing" is spelled O-N-G-O-I-N-G.
What does "ongoing" mean?
As an adjective, "ongoing" means: Continuing, permanent, lasting.
What words are commonly confused with "ongoing"?
"ongoing" is commonly confused with "outgoing", "oncoming". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "ongoing"?
From on + going, related to the phrasal verb go on. 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 "ongoing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

nursing#4,175painful#4,179mothers#4,173listing#4,171

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

trailer10 variantsvirtual10 variantswounded10 variantsarranged10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list