run aground
"run-aground" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“run aground” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be immobilized by water too shallow to allow it to float.
Corpus desk
Index EN-run-aground · run aground · English
run aground · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | run aground |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “run aground” in English
Rare enough to double-check
run aground is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for run aground, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is run aground, spelled R-U-N- -A-G-R-O-U-N-D.
Definition
- 1To be immobilized by water too shallow to allow it to float.
- 2To cause (a vessel) to be immobilized by water too shallow to allow it to float.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how run aground appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The ship ran aground and had to be towed back out to sea.
The Canadian Coast Guard says a stranded container barge has been refloated, after running aground off Quadra Island over the weekend.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.