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reward

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "reward", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "reward" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "reward" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

reward is aEnglishnoun. It means: Something of value given in return for an act. Pronounced /ɹɪˈwɔːd/. It ranks #4,116 in English word frequency. Often confused with rewind and rework.

Key facts for reward
PropertyValue
Headwordreward
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈwɔːd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,116
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of reward in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for reward is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈwɔːd/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,116 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for reward, with forms such as "erward", "reawrd", and "rewadr". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "rewind", "rework", "rewarded", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reward, rewarde, from Old French reward (“reward”) (compare Old French regard, whence modern French regard, and also English regard through Middle French), from rewarder (“to reward”) (compare Old French reguarder), from re- + warder (“t… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is reward, spelled R-E-W-A-R-D, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something of value given in return for an act.
  2. 2
    A prize promised for a certain deed or catch
  3. 3
    The result of an action, whether good or bad.

Etymology

From Middle English reward, rewarde, from Old French reward (“reward”) (compare Old French regard, whence modern French regard, and also English regard through Middle French), from rewarder (“to reward”) (compare Old French reguarder), from re- + warder (“to guard, keep”) (compare Old French guarder); the Anglo-Norman forms are derived from Old Northern French variants of Old French, ultimately of Germanic (Frankish) origin. Compare regard, warden, guard. See more below. Mostly displaced Old English mēd, whence Modern English meed. Displaced Old English lēan and edlēan.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: erward,reawrd,rewadr,rewardd,rewarrd,rewrad,rewward,rreward,rweard

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for reward

Misspelling Variants of "reward"

erward6reawrd6rewadr6rewardd7rewarrd7rewrad6rewward7rreward7
Misspelling Variants of "reward"

Frequency rank: #4,116 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "reward"?
"reward" is spelled R-E-W-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈwɔːd/.
What does "reward" mean?
As a noun, "reward" means: Something of value given in return for an act.
What words are commonly confused with "reward"?
"reward" is commonly confused with "rewind", "rework", "rewarded". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "reward"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reward" is /ɹɪˈwɔːd/. 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 "reward"?
From Middle English reward, rewarde, from Old French reward (“reward”) (compare Old French regard, whence modern French regard, and also English regard through Middle French), from rewarder (“to reward”) (compare Old French reguarder), from re- + ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.