ridge

/ɹɪd͡ʒ/

//ɹɪd͡ʒ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“ridge” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,914. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,914
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The back of any animal; especially the upper or projecting part of the back of a quadruped.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ridge · ridge · English

ridge · rank #5,914 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,914
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Richmond

Nearest frequency peer: Richmond (-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 “ridge”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ridge” 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).

ridge vs rig
60% similar
ridge vs ring
60% similar
ridge vs rise
60% similar

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

Key facts for ridge
PropertyValue
Headwordridge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪd͡ʒ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,914
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ridge”

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).ridgelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Richmond” (#5,913), “Samsung” (#5,915), “rev” (#5,912). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “ridge” is #5,914. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around ridge (IPA /ɹɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,914 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for ridge, with forms such as "irdge", "rdige", and "riddge". 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, "rig", "ring", "rise", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rigge, rygge, (also rig, ryg, rug), from Old English hryċġ (“back, spine, ridge, elevated surface”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrugi, from Proto-Germanic *hrugjaz (“back”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krewk-, *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”).… The correct English form is ridge, spelled R-I-D-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The back of any animal; especially the upper or projecting part of the back of a quadruped.
  2. 2
    Any extended protuberance; a projecting line or strip.
  3. 3
    The line along which two sloping surfaces meet which diverge towards the ground.
  4. 4
    The highest point on a roof, represented by a horizontal line where two roof areas intersect, running the length of the area.
  5. 5
    The highest portion of the glacis proceeding from the salient angle of the covered way.
  6. 6
    A chain of mountains.
  7. 7
    A chain of hills.
  8. 8
    A long narrow elevation on an ocean bottom.
  9. 9
    An elongated region of high atmospheric pressure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He thought it was no time to ſtay, / And let the Night too ſteal away, / But in a trice advanced the Knight, / Upon the Bare Ridge, Bolt upright, / And groping out for Ralpho’s Jade, / He found the Saddle too was ſtraid[…]
  2. The plough threw up ridges of earth between the furrows.

Etymology

From Middle English rigge, rygge, (also rig, ryg, rug), from Old English hryċġ (“back, spine, ridge, elevated surface”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrugi, from Proto-Germanic *hrugjaz (“back”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krewk-, *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots rig (“back, spine, ridge”), North Frisian reg (“back”), West Frisian rêch (“back”), Dutch rug (“back, ridge”), German Rücken (“back, ridge”), Swedish rygg (“back, spine, ridge”), Icelandic hryggur (“spine”). Cognate to Albanian kërrus (“to bend one's back”) and kurriz (“back”).

This word in other languages

cresta(Español)crête(Français)Grat(Deutsch)cumeeira(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irdge
  • rdige
  • riddge
  • rideg
  • ridgge
  • rigde
  • rridge

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

irdge2rdige2riddge1rideg2ridgge1rigde2rridge1
Edit distance from "ridge"

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 "ridge"?
"ridge" is spelled R-I-D-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "ridge" mean?
As a noun, "ridge" means: The back of any animal; especially the upper or projecting part of the back of a quadruped.
What words are commonly confused with "ridge"?
"ridge" is commonly confused with "rig", "ring", "rise". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ridge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ridge" is /ɹɪd͡ʒ/. 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 "ridge"?
From Middle English rigge, rygge, (also rig, ryg, rug), from Old English hryċġ (“back, spine, ridge, elevated surface”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrugi, from Proto-Germanic *hrugjaz (“back”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krewk-, *(s)ker- (“to tur... 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 "ridge", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tends#5,922tribe#5,923Julia#5,892canon#5,940

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

cared7 variantsdivide7 variantscruel7 variantsbanner7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list