pledge
/plɛd͡ʒ/
"pledge" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pledge” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,167. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #7,167
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To make a solemn promise (to do something).
Corpus desk
Index EN-pledge · pledge · English
pledge · rank #7,167 · 9 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #7,167
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH pause
Nearest frequency peer: pause (-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 “pledge”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- outlet
outlet
92,838 corpus weight
- pause
pause
92,835 corpus weight
- pledge
pledge
92,834 corpus weight
- portal
portal
92,833 corpus weight
- prescription
prescription
92,832 corpus weight
- proving
proving
92,830 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “pledge” 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 | pledge |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /plɛd͡ʒ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #7,167 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pledge” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around pledge (IPA /plɛd͡ʒ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,167 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for pledge, with forms such as "lpedge", "peldge", and "pldege". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "plunge", "pledged", "pled", 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 plege, from Anglo-Norman plege, from Old French plege (Modern French pleige) from Medieval Latin plevium, plebium, from plebiō (“to pledge”), from Frankish *plehan (“to pledge; to support; to guarantee”). Akin to Old High German pflegan … The correct English form is pledge, spelled P-L-E-D-G-E.
Definition
- 1To make a solemn promise (to do something).
- 2To deposit something as a security; to pawn.
- 3To give assurance of friendship by the act of drinking; to drink to one's health.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pledge appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
pledge allegiance to the flag
HARDCASTLE [Taking the cup.] I hope you'll find it to your mind. I have prepared it with my own hands, and I believe you'll own the ingredients are tolerable. Will you be so good as to pledge me, sir? Here, Mr. Marlow, here is to our better acquaintance. [Drinks.]
Etymology
From Middle English plege, from Anglo-Norman plege, from Old French plege (Modern French pleige) from Medieval Latin plevium, plebium, from plebiō (“to pledge”), from Frankish *plehan (“to pledge; to support; to guarantee”). Akin to Old High German pflegan (“to take care of, be accustomed to”), Old Saxon plegan (“to vouch for”), Old English plēon (“to risk, endanger”). More at plight.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- lpedge
- peldge
- pldege
- pleddge
- pledeg
- pledgge
- plegde
- plledge
- ppledge
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pledge - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pledge", 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).
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.