referred

/ɹɪˈfɝd/

//ɹɪˈfɝd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"referred" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“referred” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,460. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,460
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of refer

Corpus desk

Index EN-referred · referred · English

referred · rank #2,460 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,460
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH recommend

Nearest frequency peer: recommend (-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 “referred”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “referred” 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).

referred vs revered
75% similar
referred vs reserved
75% similar
referred vs reformed
75% similar

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

Key facts for referred
PropertyValue
Headwordreferred
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɪˈfɝd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,460
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “referred”

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).referredlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “recommend” (#2,459), “relevant” (#2,461), “perfectly” (#2,458). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “referred” is #2,460. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around referred (IPA /ɹɪˈfɝd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,460 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of refer".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for referred, with forms such as "erferred", "reefrred", and "refered". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "revered", "reserved", "reformed", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is referred, spelled R-E-F-E-R-R-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of refer

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erferred
  • reefrred
  • refered
  • refererd
  • referrde
  • referredd
  • refferred
  • refrered
  • rfeerred
  • rreferred

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

erferred2reefrred2refered1refererd2referrde2referredd1refferred1refrered2
Edit distance from "referred"

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 "referred"?
"referred" is spelled R-E-F-E-R-R-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈfɝd/.
What does "referred" mean?
As a verb, "referred" means: simple past and past participle of refer
What words are commonly confused with "referred"?
"referred" is commonly confused with "revered", "reserved", "reformed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "referred"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "referred" is /ɹɪˈfɝd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "referred" come from?
"referred" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "referred", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

relevant#2,461laughing#2,452improved#2,449hundreds#2,447

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

stands10 variantsdealing10 variantsextreme10 variantsmaximum10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list