query
/ˈkwɪə.ɹi/
"query" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“query” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,307. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #12,307
- frequency rank, English
- 288
- “Q” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A question, an inquiry (US), an enquiry (UK).
Corpus desk
Index EN-query · query · English
query · rank #12,307 · 7 variants · 13 confusables
- FREQ-MID #12,307
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 288
- PHOTO-FINISH quarantine
Nearest frequency peer: quarantine (-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 “query”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- precipitati…
precipitation
87,699 corpus weight
- pup
pup
87,696 corpus weight
- quarantine
quarantine
87,695 corpus weight
- query
query
87,694 corpus weight
- RAF
RAF
87,693 corpus weight
- restraint
restraint
87,689 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “query” 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 | query |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkwɪə.ɹi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #12,307 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “query” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around query (IPA /ˈkwɪə.ɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,307 among 288 “Q” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for query, with forms such as "qeury", "qquery", and "querry". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "quest", "queue", "quirk", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: An anglicisation of quere, an obsolete variant form of Latin quaere, second-person singular present active imperative of quaerō (“seek, look for; ask”); perhaps suffixed with -y (“abstract noun”). Cognate with French quérir, Italian chiedere, Portuguese que… The correct English form is query, spelled Q-U-E-R-Y.
Definition
- 1A question, an inquiry (US), an enquiry (UK).
- 2A question mark.
- 3A set of instructions passed to a database.
- 4Ellipsis of query letter.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how query appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The teacher answered the student’s query concerning biosynthesis.
Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.
Etymology
An anglicisation of quere, an obsolete variant form of Latin quaere, second-person singular present active imperative of quaerō (“seek, look for; ask”); perhaps suffixed with -y (“abstract noun”). Cognate with French quérir, Italian chiedere, Portuguese querer, Romanian cere, and Spanish querer. Compare question.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- qeury
- qquery
- querry
- queryy
- queyr
- qurey
- uqery
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of query - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "query"?
What does "query" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "query"?
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What is the origin of the word "query"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "query", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "query". Here's where to go from here.
- "query" maps to 13 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "quest". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #12,307 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "Q" letter cohort. Q–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.