perform
/pəˈfɔːm/
"perform" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“perform” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,226. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #2,226
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To do (something); to execute.
Corpus desk
Index EN-perform · perform · English
perform · rank #2,226 · 11 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #2,226
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH payment
Nearest frequency peer: payment (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “perform”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- milk
milk
97,778 corpus weight
- pack
pack
97,777 corpus weight
- payment
payment
97,776 corpus weight
- perform
perform
97,775 corpus weight
- recorded
recorded
97,774 corpus weight
- relatively
relatively
97,773 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “perform” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | perform |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pəˈfɔːm/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #2,226 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “perform” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around perform (IPA /pəˈfɔːm/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,226 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for perform, with forms such as "eprform", "pefrorm", and "perfform". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "performed", "performer", 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 parformen, performen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Frankish *frumm… The correct English form is perform, spelled P-E-R-F-O-R-M.
Definition
- 1To do (something); to execute.
- 2To exhibit an expected pattern of behavior; to function; to work.
- 3To exhibit an expected pattern of behavior; to function; to work.
- 4To act in a way set forth in a contract.
- 5To act in a way set forth in a contract.
- 6To do (something) in front of an audience, such as acting or music, often in order to entertain.
- 7To behave theatrically so as to give the impression of (a quality, character trait, etc.); to feign.
- 8Of a social actor, to behave in certain ways.
- 9Of a social actor, to behave in certain ways.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how perform appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The scientists performed several experiments.
It took him only twenty minutes to perform the task.
Etymology
From Middle English parformen, performen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Frankish *frummjan (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Proto-Germanic *frumjaną, *framjaną (“to further, promote”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“in front, forth”), *per- (“forward, out”). Cognate with Old High German frummen (“to do, execute, accomplish, provide”), Old Saxon frummian (“to perform, promote”), Old English fremman (“to perform, execute, carry out, accomplish”). See also frame, from. Modernly, rather than Proto-Germanic *frumjaną, associated with Latin formō, analyzable as per- + form.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- eprform
- pefrorm
- perfform
- perfomr
- performm
- perforrm
- perfrom
- perofrm
- perrform
- pperform
- preform
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of perform - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "perform", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "perform". Here's where to go from here.
- "perform" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "performed". View pair
- 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #2,226 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.