send

/sɛnd/

//sɛnd// verb

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

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

The verdict

“send” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #817 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#817
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make something (such as an object or message) go from one place to another (or to someone).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

send vs set
50% similar
send vs son
50% similar
send vs sex
50% similar

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

Key facts for send
PropertyValue
Headwordsend
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/sɛnd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#817
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “send” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). send lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for send is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sɛnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #817 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for send, with forms such as "esnd", "sedn", and "sendd". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "set", "son", "sex", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English senden, from Old English sendan (“to send, cause to go”), from Proto-West Germanic *sandijan, from Proto-Germanic *sandijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sont-eye- (“to cause to go”), causative of *sent- (“to walk, travel”). The noun deriv… The correct English form is send, spelled S-E-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make something (such as an object or message) go from one place to another (or to someone).
  2. 2
    To get one going; move to excitement or rapture; to delight or thrill.
  3. 3
    To bring to a certain condition, to drive.
  4. 4
    To dispatch an agent or messenger to convey a message or do an errand.
  5. 5
    To cause to be or to happen; to bring; bring about.
  6. 6
    To cause to be or to happen; to bring; bring about.
  7. 7
    To pitch.
  8. 8
    To climb a route without falling.
  9. 9
    To pursue (a course of action) committedly, enthusiastically, and often recklessly; go for.
  10. 10
    To care.
  11. 11
    To call out or diss a specific person in a diss track.
  12. 12
    To give (someone) a lift, to drive (someone) to another place.

Etymology

From Middle English senden, from Old English sendan (“to send, cause to go”), from Proto-West Germanic *sandijan, from Proto-Germanic *sandijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sont-eye- (“to cause to go”), causative of *sent- (“to walk, travel”). The noun derives from the verb. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian seende (“to send”), Dutch zenden (“to send”), German senden (“to send”), Danish and Norwegian sende (“to send”), Swedish sända (“to send”), Icelandic senda (“to send”). Related also to Old English sand, sond (“a sending, mission, message”). See also sith.

This word in other languages

enviar(Español)envoyer(Français)senden(Deutsch)enviar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: esnd,sedn,sendd,sennd,sned,ssend

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

esnd2sedn2sendd1sennd1sned2ssend1
Edit distance from "send"

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 "send"?
"send" is spelled S-E-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /sɛnd/.
What does "send" mean?
As a verb, "send" means: To make something (such as an object or message) go from one place to another (or to someone).
What words are commonly confused with "send"?
"send" is commonly confused with "set", "son", "sex". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "send"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "send" is /sɛnd/. 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 "send"?
From Middle English senden, from Old English sendan (“to send, cause to go”), from Proto-West Germanic *sandijan, from Proto-Germanic *sandijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sont-eye- (“to cause to go”), causative of *sent- (“to walk, travel”). The ... 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.

Using “send”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-E-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /sɛnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “set” - see the side-by-side comparison. send vs set
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list