rumour
/ˈɹuːmə(ɹ)/
"rumour" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rumour” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,709 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #17,709
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - British, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland spelling of rumor.
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 | rumour |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹuːmə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #17,709 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rumour” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for rumour is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹuːmə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,709 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for rumour, with forms such as "rmuour", "rrumour", and "rummour". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "rumor", "rigour", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rumour, from Old French rumour, rumor, from Latin rūmor (“common talk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *rewH- (“to shout, roar”). The correct English form is rumour, spelled R-U-M-O-U-R.
Definition
- 1British, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland spelling of rumor.
- 2A prolonged, indistinct noise.
Etymology
From Middle English rumour, from Old French rumour, rumor, from Latin rūmor (“common talk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *rewH- (“to shout, roar”).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: rmuour,rrumour,rummour,rumoru,rumourr,rumuor,ruomur,urmour
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rumour - 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.
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 "rumour"?
What does "rumour" mean?
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Using “rumour”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-U-M-O-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹuːmə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rumor” - see the side-by-side comparison. rumour vs rumor
- 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.