rung

/ɹʌŋ/

//ɹʌŋ// noun

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

"rung" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rung” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,497. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,497
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rung · rung · English

rung · rank #22,497 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,497
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH salah

Nearest frequency peer: salah (+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 “rung”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “rung” 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).

rung vs rut
50% similar
rung vs Rus
25% similar
rung vs runs
75% similar

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

Key facts for rung
PropertyValue
Headwordrung
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹʌŋ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#22,497
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rung”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).runglands 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 “salah” (#22,498), “rudder” (#22,495), “Rohan” (#22,494). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rung” is #22,497. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around rung (IPA /ɹʌŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,497 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for rung, with forms such as "rnug", "rrung", and "rugn". 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, "rut", "Rus", "runs", 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 rung, from Old English hrung, from Proto-West Germanic *hrungu, from Proto-Germanic *hrungō. Cognate with Dutch rong (“pole, stanchion”), German Runge (“stake, pole, stanchion”), Gothic 𐌷𐍂𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌰 (hrugga, “a staff”). The correct English form is rung, spelled R-U-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
  2. 2
    A crosspiece between legs of a chair.
  3. 3
    A position in a hierarchy.
  4. 4
    A floor timber in a ship.
  5. 5
    One of the stakes of a cart; a spar; a heavy staff.
  6. 6
    One of the radial handles projecting from the rim of a steering wheel.
  7. 7
    One of the pins or trundles of a lantern wheel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rung appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. One of its arms was a disabled flail which used to be wielded by Goodman Rigby, before his spouse worried him out of this troublesome world; the other, if I mistake not, was composed of the pudding stick and a broken rung of a chair, tied loosely together at the elbow.
  2. the lowest rung of the society

Etymology

From Middle English rung, from Old English hrung, from Proto-West Germanic *hrungu, from Proto-Germanic *hrungō. Cognate with Dutch rong (“pole, stanchion”), German Runge (“stake, pole, stanchion”), Gothic 𐌷𐍂𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌰 (hrugga, “a staff”).

This word in other languages

peldaño(Español)barreau(Français)Sprosse(Deutsch)degrau(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rnug
  • rrung
  • rugn
  • rungg
  • runng
  • urng

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rnug2rrung1rugn2rungg1runng1urng2
Edit distance from "rung"

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 "rung"?
"rung" is spelled R-U-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹʌŋ/.
What does "rung" mean?
As a noun, "rung" means: A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
What words are commonly confused with "rung"?
"rung" is commonly confused with "rut", "Rus", "runs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rung"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rung" is /ɹʌŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rung"?
From Middle English rung, from Old English hrung, from Proto-West Germanic *hrungu, from Proto-Germanic *hrungō. Cognate with Dutch rong (“pole, stanchion”), German Runge (“stake, pole, stanchion”), Gothic 𐌷𐍂𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌰 (hrugga, “a staff”). 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 "rung", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Thom#22,527opal#22,458mRNA#22,446Lyme#22,428

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Tahoe6 variantstelly6 variantspalsy6 variantsOdessa6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list