pending

/ˈpɛndɪŋ/

//ˈpɛndɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“pending” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,947. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,947
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of pend

Corpus desk

Index EN-pending · pending · English

pending · rank #6,947 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,947
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peers

Nearest frequency peer: peers (-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 “pending”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pending” 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).

pending vs pining
71% similar
pending vs pudding
71% similar
pending vs pinning
71% similar

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

Key facts for pending
PropertyValue
Headwordpending
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɛndɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,947
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pending”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pendinglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “peers” (#6,946), “platinum” (#6,948), “paths” (#6,945). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pending” is #6,947. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around pending (IPA /ˈpɛndɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,947 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of pend".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for pending, with forms such as "epnding", "pedning", and "pendding". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pining", "pudding", "pinning", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is pending, spelled P-E-N-D-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of pend

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epnding
  • pedning
  • pendding
  • pendign
  • pendingg
  • pendinng
  • pendnig
  • penidng
  • pennding
  • pneding
  • ppending

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

epnding2pedning2pendding1pendign2pendingg1pendinng1pendnig2penidng2
Edit distance from "pending"

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 "pending"?
"pending" is spelled P-E-N-D-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛndɪŋ/.
What does "pending" mean?
As a verb, "pending" means: present participle and gerund of pend
What words are commonly confused with "pending"?
"pending" is commonly confused with "pining", "pudding", "pinning". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pending"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pending" is /ˈpɛndɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pending" come from?
"pending" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "pending", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

possess#6,949praised#6,950needing#6,938mercury#6,935

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

mansion11 variantsstarter11 variantsinsects11 variantsideology11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list