English Word Reference Free

prone

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "prone", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "prone" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "prone" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

prone is anEnglishadj. It means: Lying face-down. Pronounced /pɹəʊn/. It ranks #7,961 in English word frequency. Often confused with pros and prop.

Key facts for prone
PropertyValue
Headwordprone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdj
IPA/pɹəʊn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,961
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of prone in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for prone is 5 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹəʊn/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,961 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for prone, with forms such as "porne", "pprone", and "prnoe". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pros", "prop", "Pune", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English prone, proone, proon, from Latin prōnus (“turned forward, bent or inclined”), from prō (“forward”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is prone, spelled P-R-O-N-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lying face-down.
  2. 2
    Of the hand, forearm or foot: turned facing away from the body; with the thumb inward or big toe downward.
  3. 3
    Having a downward inclination or slope.
  4. 4
    Shooting from a position while lying down.
  5. 5
    Predisposed, liable, inclined.

Etymology

From Middle English prone, proone, proon, from Latin prōnus (“turned forward, bent or inclined”), from prō (“forward”).

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: porne,pprone,prnoe,proen,pronne,prrone,rpone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for prone

Misspelling Variants of "prone"

porne5pprone6prnoe5proen5pronne6prrone6rpone5
Misspelling Variants of "prone"

Frequency rank: #7,961 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prone"?
"prone" is spelled P-R-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəʊn/.
What does "prone" mean?
As an adj, "prone" means: Lying face-down.
What words are commonly confused with "prone"?
"prone" is commonly confused with "pros", "prop", "Pune". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prone" is /pɹəʊn/. 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 "prone"?
From Middle English prone, proone, proon, from Latin prōnus (“turned forward, bent or inclined”), from prō (“forward”). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.