prolong
/pɹəʊˈlɒŋ/
"prolong" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“prolong” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,183 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #22,183
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To extend in space or length.
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 | prolong |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pɹəʊˈlɒŋ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #22,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “prolong” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for prolong is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹəʊˈlɒŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,183 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for prolong, with forms such as "porlong", "pprolong", and "prloong". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "prong", "proton", "proving", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Either a back-formation from prolongation, or from Old French prolonguer or porloignier, from Latin prōlongō, from prō + longō. Doublet of purloin. The correct English form is prolong, spelled P-R-O-L-O-N-G.
Definition
- 1To extend in space or length.
- 2To lengthen in time; to extend the duration of.
- 3To put off to a distant time; to postpone.
- 4To become longer; lengthen.
Etymology
Either a back-formation from prolongation, or from Old French prolonguer or porloignier, from Latin prōlongō, from prō + longō. Doublet of purloin.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porlong,pprolong,prloong,prollong,prolnog,prologn,prolongg,prolonng,proolng,prrolong,rpolong
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prolong - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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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Using “prolong”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-L-O-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹəʊˈlɒŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “prong” - see the side-by-side comparison. prolong vs prong
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.