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 May 6, 2026) - To be immobilized by water too shallow to allow it to float.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | run aground |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “run aground” sits in English frequency
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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “run aground”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-U-N- -A-G-R-O-U-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.