round
/ˈɹaʊnd/
"round" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“round” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #754 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #754
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of shape:
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | round |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɹaʊnd/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #754 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “round” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for round is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹaʊnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #754 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for round, with forms such as "orund", "ronud", and "roudn". 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, "run", "runs", "rudd", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the correspon… The correct English form is round, spelled R-O-U-N-D.
Definition
- 1Of shape:
- 2Of shape:
- 3Of shape:
- 4Of shape:
- 5Of shape:
- 6Complete, whole, not lacking.
- 7Convenient for rounding other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.
- 8Pronounced with the lips drawn together; rounded.
- 9Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; not mincing words.
- 10Finished; polished; not defective or abrupt; said of authors or their writing style.
- 11Consistent; fair; just; applied to conduct.
- 12Large in magnitude.
- 13Well-written and well-characterized; complex and reminiscent of a real person.
- 14Vaulted.
- 15Returning to its starting point.
Etymology
From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: orund,ronud,roudn,roundd,rounnd,rround,ruond
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of round - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “round”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-O-U-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹaʊnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “run” - see the side-by-side comparison. round vs run
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.