seventy

/ˈsɛv.ən.ti/

//ˈsɛv.ən.ti// num

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

The verdict

“seventy” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,954 in English word frequency and used as a numeral.

#9,954
frequency rank, English
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The cardinal number occurring after sixty-nine and before seventy-one, represented in Roman numerals as LXX and in Arabic numerals as 70.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

seventy vs severity
75% similar
seventy vs seven
71% similar
seventy vs seventh
86% similar

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

Key facts for seventy
PropertyValue
Headwordseventy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNumeral
IPA/ˈsɛv.ən.ti/
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,954
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “seventy” 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). seventy 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 seventy is 7 letters long, classified as a numeral, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛv.ən.ti/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,954 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The cardinal number occurring after sixty-nine and before seventy-one, represented in Roman numerals as LXX and in Arabic numerals as 70.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for seventy, with forms such as "esventy", "seevnty", and "sevennty". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "severity", "seven", "seventh", 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 seventy, sevynty, from Old English hundseofontiġ, from Proto-Germanic *sebuntēhundą (“seventy”), equivalent to seven + -ty. Cognate with Scots seiventy (“seventy”), Saterland Frisian soogentich (“seventy”), West Frisian santich (“seventy… The correct English form is seventy, spelled S-E-V-E-N-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The cardinal number occurring after sixty-nine and before seventy-one, represented in Roman numerals as LXX and in Arabic numerals as 70.

Etymology

From Middle English seventy, sevynty, from Old English hundseofontiġ, from Proto-Germanic *sebuntēhundą (“seventy”), equivalent to seven + -ty. Cognate with Scots seiventy (“seventy”), Saterland Frisian soogentich (“seventy”), West Frisian santich (“seventy”), Dutch zeventig (“seventy”), German Low German söventig (“seventy”), German siebzig (“seventy”), Swedish sjuttio (“seventy”), Norwegian sytti (“seventy”), Icelandic sjötíu (“seventy”).

Synonyms

70LXX

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: esventy,seevnty,sevennty,seventty,seventyy,sevenyt,sevetny,sevnety,sevventy,sseventy,sveenty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

esventy2seevnty2sevennty1seventty1seventyy1sevenyt2sevetny2sevnety2
Edit distance from "seventy"

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 "seventy"?
"seventy" is spelled S-E-V-E-N-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛv.ən.ti/.
What does "seventy" mean?
As a numeral, "seventy" means: The cardinal number occurring after sixty-nine and before seventy-one, represented in Roman numerals as LXX and in Arabic numerals as 70.
What words are commonly confused with "seventy"?
"seventy" is commonly confused with "severity", "seven", "seventh". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "seventy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "seventy" is /ˈsɛv.ən.ti/. 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 "seventy"?
From Middle English seventy, sevynty, from Old English hundseofontiġ, from Proto-Germanic *sebuntēhundą (“seventy”), equivalent to seven + -ty. Cognate with Scots seiventy (“seventy”), Saterland Frisian soogentich (“seventy”), West Frisian santich... 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 “seventy”

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

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