planet

/ˈplænɪt/

//ˈplænɪt// noun

"planet" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“planet” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,123. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,123
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Each of the seven major bodies which move relative to the fixed stars in the night sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Corpus desk

Index EN-planet · planet · English

planet · rank #2,123 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,123
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH performed

Nearest frequency peer: performed (-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 “planet”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “planet” 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).

planet vs plat
67% similar
planet vs plans
67% similar
planet vs plant
83% similar

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

Key facts for planet
PropertyValue
Headwordplanet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈplænɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,123
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “planet”

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).planetlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “performed” (#2,122), “people's” (#2,121), “restaurant” (#2,125). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “planet” is #2,123. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around planet (IPA /ˈplænɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,123 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for planet, with forms such as "lpanet", "palnet", and "plaent". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "plat", "plans", "plant", 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 planete, from Old French planete, from Latin planeta, planetes, from Ancient Greek πλανήτης (planḗtēs, “wanderer”) (itself an ellipsis of ἀστέρες πλανῆται (astéres planêtai, “wandering stars”)), from Ancient Greek πλανάω (planáō, “wander… The correct English form is planet, spelled P-L-A-N-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Each of the seven major bodies which move relative to the fixed stars in the night sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
  2. 2
    Any body that orbits the Sun, including the asteroids (as minor planets) and sometimes the moons of those bodies (as satellite planets)
  3. 3
    A body which is massive enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium (generally resulting in being an ellipsoid) but not enough to attain nuclear fusion and, in IAU usage, which directly orbits a star (or multiple star) and dominates the region of its orbit; specifically, in the case of the Solar system, the eight major bodies of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
  4. 4
    construed with the or this: The Earth.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Be they not dreames of humane vanity,[…]to make of our knowne earth a bright shining planet [translating astre]?
  2. The moon[…]began to rise from her bed, where she had slumbered away the day, in order to sit up all night. Jones had not travelled far before he paid his compliments to that beautiful planet, and, turning to his companion, asked him if he had ever beheld so delicious an evening?

Etymology

From Middle English planete, from Old French planete, from Latin planeta, planetes, from Ancient Greek πλανήτης (planḗtēs, “wanderer”) (itself an ellipsis of ἀστέρες πλανῆται (astéres planêtai, “wandering stars”)), from Ancient Greek πλανάω (planáō, “wander about, stray”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Latin pālor (“wander about, stray”), Old Norse flana (“to rush about”), and Norwegian flanta (“to wander about”). More at flaunt. So called because they have apparent motion, unlike the "fixed" stars. Originally including also the moon and sun but not the Earth; modern scientific sense of "world that orbits a star" is from 1630s in English. The Greek word is an enlarged form of πλάνης (plánēs, “who wanders around, wanderer”), also "wandering star, planet", in medicine "unstable temperature."

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpanet
  • palnet
  • plaent
  • planett
  • plannet
  • plante
  • pllanet
  • plnaet
  • pplanet

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lpanet2palnet2plaent2planett1plannet1plante2pllanet1plnaet2
Edit distance from "planet"

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 "planet"?
"planet" is spelled P-L-A-N-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈplænɪt/.
What does "planet" mean?
As a noun, "planet" means: Each of the seven major bodies which move relative to the fixed stars in the night sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
What words are commonly confused with "planet"?
"planet" is commonly confused with "plat", "plans", "plant". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "planet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "planet" is /ˈplænɪt/. 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 "planet"?
From Middle English planete, from Old French planete, from Latin planeta, planetes, from Ancient Greek πλανήτης (planḗtēs, “wanderer”) (itself an ellipsis of ἀστέρες πλανῆται (astéres planêtai, “wandering stars”)), from Ancient Greek πλανάω (planá... 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 "planet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list