own

/əʊn/

//əʊn// adj

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

"own" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“own” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #178 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#178
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Belonging to; possessed; acquired; proper to; property of; titled to; held in one's name; under/using the name of. Often marks a possessive determiner as reflexive, referring back to the subject of...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

own vs oz
33% similar
own vs ox
33% similar
own vs oy
33% similar

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

Key facts for own
PropertyValue
Headwordown
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əʊn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#178
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “own” 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). own 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 own is 3 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əʊn/. Corpus data places it at rank #178 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for own, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "oz", "ox", "oy", 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 owen, aȝen, from Old English āgen (“own, proper, peculiar”), originally the past participle of āgan; from Proto-West Germanic *aigan (“own”), from Proto-Germanic *aiganaz (“own”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“to have, possess”). Co… The correct English form is own, spelled O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Belonging to; possessed; acquired; proper to; property of; titled to; held in one's name; under/using the name of. Often marks a possessive determiner as reflexive, referring back to the subject of the clause or sentence.
  2. 2
    Not shared.
  3. 3
    Peculiar, domestic.
  4. 4
    Not foreign.

Etymology

From Middle English owen, aȝen, from Old English āgen (“own, proper, peculiar”), originally the past participle of āgan; from Proto-West Germanic *aigan (“own”), from Proto-Germanic *aiganaz (“own”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“to have, possess”). Cognates Cognate with Scots ain (“own”), Saterland Frisian oain (“own”), Dutch, German and Norwegian Nynorsk eigen (“own”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish egen (“own”), Icelandic eigin (“own”). Originally past participle of the verb at hand in English owe. Also cognate with Sanskrit ईश्वर (īśvará, “able to do, capable of; owner, master”).

This word in other languages

propio(Español)propre(Français)eigen(Deutsch)próprio(Português)

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 "own"?
"own" is spelled O-W-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əʊn/.
What does "own" mean?
As an adjective, "own" means: Belonging to; possessed; acquired; proper to; property of; titled to; held in one's name; under/using the name of. Often marks a possessive determiner as reflexive, referring back to the subject of...
What words are commonly confused with "own"?
"own" is commonly confused with "oz", "ox", "oy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "own"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "own" is /əʊn/. 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 "own"?
From Middle English owen, aȝen, from Old English āgen (“own, proper, peculiar”), originally the past participle of āgan; from Proto-West Germanic *aigan (“own”), from Proto-Germanic *aiganaz (“own”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“to have, pos... 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 “own”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is O-W-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əʊn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “oz” - see the side-by-side comparison. own vs oz
  • 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