rotting

verb

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

"rotting" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rotting” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,684. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,684
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of rot

Corpus desk

Index EN-rotting · rotting · English

rotting · rank #18,684 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,684
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH romero

Nearest frequency peer: romero (-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 “rotting”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “rotting” 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).

rotting vs rowing
71% similar
rotting vs roving
71% similar
rotting vs routine
71% similar

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

Key facts for rotting
PropertyValue
Headwordrotting
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,684
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rotting”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “romero” (#18,683), “Salman” (#18,685), “rocker” (#18,682). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rotting” is #18,684. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around rotting, averb. Corpus frequency is #18,684 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of rot".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for rotting, with forms such as "ortting", "rotitng", and "rottign". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "rowing", "roving", "routine", 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 rotynge (“rotting”), from Old English rotung; equivalent to rot + -ing. Conflated with Middle English rotende, present participle of roten (“to rot”), from Old English rotiende, present participle of rotian (“to rot”). The correct English form is rotting, spelled R-O-T-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of rot

Etymology

From Middle English rotynge (“rotting”), from Old English rotung; equivalent to rot + -ing. Conflated with Middle English rotende, present participle of roten (“to rot”), from Old English rotiende, present participle of rotian (“to rot”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ortting
  • rotitng
  • rottign
  • rottingg
  • rottinng
  • rottnig
  • rrotting
  • rtoting

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ortting2rotitng2rottign2rottingg1rottinng1rottnig2rrotting1rtoting2
Edit distance from "rotting"

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 "rotting"?
"rotting" is spelled R-O-T-T-I-N-G.
What does "rotting" mean?
As a verb, "rotting" means: present participle and gerund of rot
What words are commonly confused with "rotting"?
"rotting" is commonly confused with "rowing", "roving", "routine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "rotting"?
From Middle English rotynge (“rotting”), from Old English rotung; equivalent to rot + -ing. Conflated with Middle English rotende, present participle of roten (“to rot”), from Old English rotiende, present participle of rotian (“to rot”). 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 "rotting", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

revered#18,678Shelton#18,691slander#18,695quieter#18,669

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

romero8 variantsshalt8 variantssling8 variantsstuds8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list