runway
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
6 characters
Language
English
word origin
Source
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "runway", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "runway" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "runway" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
runway is aEnglishnoun. It means: A defined, narrow section of land or an artificial structure used for access. Pronounced /ˈɹʌnweɪ/. It ranks #8,086 in English word frequency. Often confused with runny and runaway.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | runway |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹʌnweɪ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #8,086 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for runway is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹʌnweɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,086 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for runway, with forms such as "rnuway", "rrunway", and "runawy". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "runny", "runaway", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From run + way. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is runway, spelled R-U-N-W-A-Y, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A defined, narrow section of land or an artificial structure used for access.
- 2The usual path taken by deer or other wild animals, such as from a forest to a water source.
- 3A narrow walkway (often on a platform) extending from a stage on which people walk, especially one used by models during fashion shows.
- 4In javelin, long jump, and similar events: a short track along which athletes can accelerate themselves for their jumps or throws.
- 5A section of land, usually paved, for airplanes to land on or take off from.
- 6The number of months that a startup company can operate by using up its cash reserves.
- 7A stream bed.
Etymology
From run + way.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: rnuway,rrunway,runawy,runnway,runwayy,runwway,runwya,ruwnay,urnway
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for runway
Misspelling Variants of "runway"
Frequency rank: #8,086 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index: