open

/ˈəʊ.pən/

//ˈəʊ.pən// adj

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

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

The verdict

“open” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #314 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#314
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

open vs own
50% similar
open vs owe
50% similar
open vs ore
50% similar

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

Key facts for open
PropertyValue
Headwordopen
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈəʊ.pən/
Letters4
Frequency rank#314
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “open” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). open lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for open is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈəʊ.pən/. Corpus data places it at rank #314 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 39 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for open, with forms such as "oepn", "openn", and "opne". 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, "own", "owe", "ore", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Adjective from Middle English open, from Old English open (“open”), from Proto-West Germanic *opan, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”), from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“up from under, over”). Cognates * Scots apen (“open”) * Saterland Frisian eepen (“open”… The correct English form is open, spelled O-P-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  2. 2
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  3. 3
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  4. 4
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  5. 5
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  6. 6
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  7. 7
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  8. 8
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  9. 9
    Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
  10. 10
    Able to be used or interacted with in some way.
  11. 11
    Able to be used or interacted with in some way.
  12. 12
    Able to be used or interacted with in some way.
  13. 13
    Able to be used or interacted with in some way.
  14. 14
    Able to be used or interacted with in some way.
  15. 15
    Able to be used or interacted with in some way.
  16. 16
    Able to be used or interacted with in some way.
  17. 17
    Not hidden or restricted.
  18. 18
    Not hidden or restricted.
  19. 19
    Not hidden or restricted.
  20. 20
    Not hidden or restricted.
  21. 21
    Not hidden or restricted.
  22. 22
    Not hidden or restricted.
  23. 23
    Not hidden or restricted.
  24. 24
    Not hidden or restricted.
  25. 25
    Not completed or finalised.
  26. 26
    Not completed or finalised.
  27. 27
    Not completed or finalised.
  28. 28
    Not completed or finalised.
  29. 29
    Not completed or finalised.
  30. 30
    Not completed or finalised.
  31. 31
    Having a free variable.
  32. 32
    Which is part of a predefined collection of subsets of X, that defines a topological space on X.
  33. 33
    Of a note, played without pressing the string against the fingerboard.
  34. 34
    Of a note, played without closing any finger-hole, key or valve.
  35. 35
    Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; said of vowels.
  36. 36
    Uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage simply narrowed without closure.
  37. 37
    Source code of a computer program that is not within the text of a macro being generated.
  38. 38
    Having component words separated by spaces, as opposed to being joined together or hyphenated; for example, time slot as opposed to timeslot or time-slot.
  39. 39
    Of a club, bat or other hitting implement, angled upwards and/or (for a right-hander) clockwise of straight.

Etymology

Adjective from Middle English open, from Old English open (“open”), from Proto-West Germanic *opan, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”), from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“up from under, over”). Cognates * Scots apen (“open”) * Saterland Frisian eepen (“open”) * West Frisian iepen (“open”) * Cimbrian offe (“open”) * Dutch open (“open”) * German offen (“open”) * Vilamovian ufa, uffa (“open”) * Yiddish אָפֿן (ofn, “open”) * Danish åben (“open”) * Icelandic opinn (“open”) * Norwegian Bokmål åpen (“open”) * Norwegian Nynorsk open (“open”) * Swedish öppen (“open”) Compare also Latin supinus (“on one's back, supine”), Albanian hap (“to open”). Related to up. Verb from Middle English openen, from Old English openian (“to open”), from Proto-West Germanic *opanōn, from Proto-Germanic *upanōną (“to raise; lift; open”), from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”, adjective). Cognate with Saterland Frisian eepenje (“to open”), West Frisian iepenje (“to open”), Dutch openen (“to open”), German öffnen (“to open”), Danish åbne (“to open”), Swedish öppna (“to open”), Norwegian Bokmål åpne (“to open”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Icelandic opna (“to open”). Related to English up. Noun from Middle English open (“an aperture or opening”), from the verb. In the sports sense, however, a shortening of “open competition”.

Synonyms

accessibleunimpededfreefree

Antonyms

closedshutwithout prejudiceclosedcheckedclosed-sourceproprietary

This word in other languages

abierto(Español)ouvert(Français)auf(Deutsch)aberto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oepn,openn,opne,oppen,poen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of open - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

oepn2openn1opne2oppen1poen2
Edit distance from "open"

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 "open"?
"open" is spelled O-P-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈəʊ.pən/.
What does "open" mean?
As an adjective, "open" means: Physically unobstructed, uncovered, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "open"?
"open" is commonly confused with "own", "owe", "ore". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "open"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "open" is /ˈəʊ.pən/. 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 "open"?
Adjective from Middle English open, from Old English open (“open”), from Proto-West Germanic *opan, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”), from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“up from under, over”). Cognates * Scots apen (“open”) * Saterland Frisian eep... 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.

Using “open”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is O-P-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈəʊ.pən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “own” - see the side-by-side comparison. open vs own
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list