required

/ɹɪˈkwaɪɹd/

//ɹɪˈkwaɪɹd// verb

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

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

The verdict

“required” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,027. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,027
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-required · required · English

required · rank #1,027 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,027
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH recently

Nearest frequency peer: recently (-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 “required”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “required” 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).

required vs retired
75% similar
required vs requires
88% similar
required vs require
88% similar

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

Key facts for required
PropertyValue
Headwordrequired
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɪˈkwaɪɹd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,027
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “required”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “recently” (#1,026), “sales” (#1,028), “provided” (#1,025). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “required” is #1,027. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around required (IPA /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,027 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of require".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for required, with forms such as "erquired", "reqiured", and "reqquired". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "retired", "requires", "require", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is required, spelled R-E-Q-U-I-R-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of require

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erquired
  • reqiured
  • reqquired
  • requierd
  • requirde
  • requiredd
  • requirred
  • requried
  • reuqired
  • rqeuired
  • rrequired

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

erquired2reqiured2reqquired1requierd2requirde2requiredd1requirred1requried2
Edit distance from "required"

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 "required"?
"required" is spelled R-E-Q-U-I-R-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹd/.
What does "required" mean?
As a verb, "required" means: simple past and past participle of require
What words are commonly confused with "required"?
"required" is commonly confused with "retired", "requires", "require". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "required"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "required" is /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "required" come from?
"required" 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 "required", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

recently#1,026provided#1,025tomorrow#1,032watching#1,035

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

network11 variantsstudent11 variantscentury11 variantstonight11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list