ready

/ˈɹɛd.i/

//ˈɹɛd.i// adj

"ready" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ready” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #532. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#532
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prepared for immediate action or use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ready · ready · English

ready · rank #532 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #532
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH list

Nearest frequency peer: list (-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 “ready”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ready” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

ready vs red
60% similar
ready vs Rey
40% similar
ready vs real
60% similar

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

Key facts for ready
PropertyValue
Headwordready
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɹɛd.i/
Letters5
Frequency rank#532
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ready” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ready lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around ready (IPA /ˈɹɛd.i/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #532 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for ready, with forms such as "erady", "raedy", and "readdy". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "red", "Rey", "real", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English redy, redi, rædiȝ, iredi, ȝerǣdi, alteration ( + -y) of earlier irēd, irede, ȝerād (“ready, prepared”), from Old English rǣde, ġerǣde (also ġerȳde) ("prepared, prompt, ready, ready for riding (horse), mounted (on a horse), skilled, simpl… The correct English form is ready, spelled R-E-A-D-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Prepared for immediate action or use.
  2. 2
    Prepared for immediate action or use.
  3. 3
    Inclined; apt to happen.
  4. 4
    Liable at any moment.
  5. 5
    Not slow or hesitating; quick in action or perception of any kind.
  6. 6
    Offering itself at once; at hand; opportune; convenient.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I made ready to set out on my journey.
  2. The troops are ready for battle.

Etymology

From Middle English redy, redi, rædiȝ, iredi, ȝerǣdi, alteration ( + -y) of earlier irēd, irede, ȝerād (“ready, prepared”), from Old English rǣde, ġerǣde (also ġerȳde) ("prepared, prompt, ready, ready for riding (horse), mounted (on a horse), skilled, simple, easy"), from Proto-Germanic *garaidijaz, *raidijaz, from base *raidaz (“ready”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂reh₁dʰ-, *h₂reh₁- (“to count, put in order, arrange, make comfortable”) and also probably conflated with Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ- (“to ride”) in the sense of "set to ride, able or fit to go, ready". Cognate with Scots readie, reddy (“ready, prepared”), West Frisian ree (“ready”), Dutch gereed (“ready”), German bereit (“ready”), Danish rede (“ready”), Swedish redo (“ready, fit, prepared”), Norwegian reiug (“ready, prepared”), Icelandic greiður (“easy, light”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 (garaiþs, “arranged, ordered”).

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erady
  • raedy
  • readdy
  • readyy
  • reayd
  • reday
  • rready

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ready - 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.

erady2raedy2readdy1readyy1reayd2reday2rready1
Edit distance from "ready"

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 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ready"?
"ready" is spelled R-E-A-D-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɛd.i/.
What does "ready" mean?
As an adjective, "ready" means: Prepared for immediate action or use.
What words are commonly confused with "ready"?
"ready" is commonly confused with "red", "Rey", "real". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ready"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ready" is /ˈɹɛd.i/. 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 "ready"?
From Middle English redy, redi, rædiȝ, iredi, ȝerǣdi, alteration ( + -y) of earlier irēd, irede, ȝerād (“ready, prepared”), from Old English rǣde, ġerǣde (also ġerȳde) ("prepared, prompt, ready, ready for riding (horse), mounted (on a horse), skil... 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 "ready", 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 "ready". Here's where to go from here.

  • "ready" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "red". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #532 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "R" letter cohort. R–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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list