renew
/ɹɪˈnjuː/
"renew" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“renew” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,753 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #10,753
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make (something) new again; to restore to freshness or original condition.
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 | renew |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈnjuː/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #10,753 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “renew” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for renew is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈnjuː/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,753 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for renew, with forms such as "ernew", "reenw", and "reneww". 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, "rent", "reno", "rune", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English renewen, an alteration (possibly on analogy with Latin renovāre) of earlier anewen (“to renew”), from Old English nīewian (“to restore; renovate; renew”), equivalent to re- + new. Cognate with Old High German giniuwōn (“to renew”), Middl… The correct English form is renew, spelled R-E-N-E-W.
Definition
- 1To make (something) new again; to restore to freshness or original condition.
- 2To replace (something which has broken etc.); to replenish (something which has been exhausted), to keep up a required supply of.
- 3To make new spiritually; to regenerate.
- 4To become new, or as new; to revive.
- 5To begin again; to recommence.
- 6To repeat.
- 7To extend a period of loan, especially a library book that is due to be returned.
Etymology
From Middle English renewen, an alteration (possibly on analogy with Latin renovāre) of earlier anewen (“to renew”), from Old English nīewian (“to restore; renovate; renew”), equivalent to re- + new. Cognate with Old High German giniuwōn (“to renew”), Middle High German geniuwen (“to renew”), Old Norse nýja (“to renew”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ernew,reenw,reneww,rennew,renwe,rneew,rrenew
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of renew - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “renew”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-N-E-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈnjuː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rent” - see the side-by-side comparison. renew vs rent
- 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.