English Word Reference Free

robust

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

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "robust", 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 "robust" 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 "robust" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

robust is anEnglishadj. It means: Able to withstand adverse conditions. Pronounced /ɹəʊˈbʌst/. It ranks #7,843 in English word frequency. Often confused with rust and rout.

Key facts for robust
PropertyValue
Headwordrobust
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdj
IPA/ɹəʊˈbʌst/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,843
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for robust is 6 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹəʊˈbʌst/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,843 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 9 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 robust, with forms such as "orbust", "rboust", and "robbust". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "rust", "rout", "rouse", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin rōbustus. 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 robust, spelled R-O-B-U-S-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Able to withstand adverse conditions.
  2. 2
    Evincing strength and health; strong; (often, especially) both large and healthy.
  3. 3
    Requiring strength or vigor.
  4. 4
    Sensible (of intellect etc.); straightforward, not given to or confused by uncertainty or subtlety.
  5. 5
    Rough; rude.
  6. 6
    Designed or evolved in such a way as to be resistant to total failure despite partial damage.
  7. 7
    Resistant or impervious to failure regardless of user input or unexpected conditions.
  8. 8
    Not greatly influenced by errors in assumptions about the distribution of sample errors.
  9. 9
    Of an individual or skeletal element: strongly built; muscular; not gracile.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rōbustus.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: orbust,rboust,robbust,robsut,robusst,robustt,robuts,roubst,rrobust

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for robust

Misspelling Variants of "robust"

orbust6rboust6robbust7robsut6robusst7robustt7robuts6roubst6
Misspelling Variants of "robust"

Frequency rank: #7,843 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "robust"?
"robust" is spelled R-O-B-U-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹəʊˈbʌst/.
What does "robust" mean?
As an adj, "robust" means: Able to withstand adverse conditions.
What words are commonly confused with "robust"?
"robust" is commonly confused with "rust", "rout", "rouse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "robust"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "robust" is /ɹəʊˈbʌst/. 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 "robust"?
Learned borrowing from Latin rōbustus. 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.

Nearby English words

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

Explore PlainSpell

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