preach

/pɹiːt͡ʃ/

//pɹiːt͡ʃ// verb

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

The verdict

“preach” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,441. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,441
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To give a sermon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-preach · preach · English

preach · rank #11,441 · 9 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,441
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH poetic

Nearest frequency peer: poetic (-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 “preach”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “preach” 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).

preach vs preface
71% similar
preach vs preacher
75% similar
preach vs preached
75% similar

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

Key facts for preach
PropertyValue
Headwordpreach
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɹiːt͡ʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,441
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “preach”

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).preachlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “poetic” (#11,440), “preaching” (#11,442), “Plymouth” (#11,439). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “preach” is #11,441. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around preach (IPA /pɹiːt͡ʃ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #11,441 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for preach, with forms such as "perach", "ppreach", and "praech". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "preface", "preacher", "preached", 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 prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō (“to proclaim, announce”, literally “to fore-assign, pre-dedicate”). Doublet of predicate. The Latin word is also the source of Old English predic… The correct English form is preach, spelled P-R-E-A-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To give a sermon.
  2. 2
    To proclaim by public discourse; to utter in a sermon or a formal religious harangue.
  3. 3
    To advise or recommend earnestly.
  4. 4
    To teach or instruct by preaching; to inform by preaching.
  5. 5
    To give advice in an offensive or obtrusive manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Our pastor can preach very well.
  2. One saint’s day in mid-term a certain newly-appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily…

Etymology

From Middle English prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō (“to proclaim, announce”, literally “to fore-assign, pre-dedicate”). Doublet of predicate. The Latin word is also the source of Old English predician (“to preach”), Saterland Frisian preetje (“to preach”), West Frisian preekje (“to preach”), Dutch preken (“to preach”), German Low German preken (“to preach”), German predigen (“to preach”), Danish prædike (“to preach”), Swedish predika (“to preach”), Icelandic prédika (“to preach”), Norwegian Nynorsk preika (“to preach”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • perach
  • ppreach
  • praech
  • preacch
  • preachh
  • preahc
  • precah
  • prreach
  • rpeach

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

perach2ppreach1praech2preacch1preachh1preahc2precah2prreach1
Edit distance from "preach"

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 "preach"?
"preach" is spelled P-R-E-A-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹiːt͡ʃ/.
What does "preach" mean?
As a verb, "preach" means: To give a sermon.
What words are commonly confused with "preach"?
"preach" is commonly confused with "preface", "preacher", "preached". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "preach"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "preach" is /pɹiːt͡ʃ/. 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 "preach"?
From Middle English prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō (“to proclaim, announce”, literally “to fore-assign, pre-dedicate”). Doublet of predicate. The Latin word is also the source of Old Engl... 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 "preach", 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