serving

/ˈsɜːvɪŋ/

//ˈsɜːvɪŋ// noun

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

"serving" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“serving” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,405. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,405
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act or process of serving.

Corpus desk

Index EN-serving · serving · English

serving · rank #2,405 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,405
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH selection

Nearest frequency peer: selection (-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 “serving”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “serving” 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).

serving vs spring
71% similar
serving vs string
71% similar
serving vs sewing
71% similar

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

Key facts for serving
PropertyValue
Headwordserving
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɜːvɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#2,405
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “serving”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).servinglands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “selection” (#2,404), “signal” (#2,406), “remained” (#2,403). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “serving” is #2,405. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around serving (IPA /ˈsɜːvɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,405 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for serving, with forms such as "esrving", "serivng", and "serrving". 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, "spring", "string", "sewing", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: By surface analysis, serve + -ing. The correct English form is serving, spelled S-E-R-V-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act or process of serving.
  2. 2
    An instance of that act or process.
  3. 3
    The quantity of food or drink intended for one person in a single sitting; especially in relation to a meal.
  4. 4
    A fraction or share.
  5. 5
    A layer added to the outside of an electrical cable to protect it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Very few Latino rock and roll bands, in the days before Santana, managed to successfully steal even a slight serving of the nation's auditory attention.

Etymology

By surface analysis, serve + -ing.

This word in other languages

servicio(Español)portion(Français)Portion(Deutsch)porção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esrving
  • serivng
  • serrving
  • servign
  • servingg
  • servinng
  • servnig
  • servving
  • sevring
  • sreving
  • sserving

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of serving - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

esrving2serivng2serrving1servign2servingg1servinng1servnig2servving1
Edit distance from "serving"

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 "serving"?
"serving" is spelled S-E-R-V-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɜːvɪŋ/.
What does "serving" mean?
As a noun, "serving" means: The act or process of serving.
What words are commonly confused with "serving"?
"serving" is commonly confused with "spring", "string", "sewing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "serving"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "serving" is /ˈsɜːvɪŋ/. 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 "serving"?
By surface analysis, serve + -ing. 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 "serving", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

suicide#2,409moments#2,398kingdom#2,394alcohol#2,424

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

remained11 variantsstruggle11 variantsVirginia11 variantsassembly11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list