spell

/spɛl/

//spɛl// noun

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

"spell" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spell” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,849. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,849
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spell · spell · English

spell · rank #3,849 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,849
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sin

Nearest frequency peer: sin (-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 “spell”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “spell” 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).

spell vs SPL
0% similar
spell vs spew
60% similar
spell vs still
60% similar

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

Key facts for spell
PropertyValue
Headwordspell
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spɛl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,849
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spell”

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).spelllands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sin” (#3,848), “summary” (#3,850), “settle” (#3,847). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spell” is #3,849. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around spell (IPA /spɛl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,849 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for spell, with forms such as "psell", "sepll", and "spel". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SPL", "spew", "still", 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 spell, spel, from Old English spell (“news, story”), from Proto-Germanic *spellą (“speech, account, tale”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to tell”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to speak, to sound”) with the s-mobile prefix.… The correct English form is spell, spelled S-P-E-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.
  2. 2
    A magical effect or influence induced by an incantation or formula.
  3. 3
    Speech, discourse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He cast a spell to cure warts.
  2. under a spell

Etymology

From Middle English spell, spel, from Old English spell (“news, story”), from Proto-Germanic *spellą (“speech, account, tale”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to tell”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to speak, to sound”) with the s-mobile prefix. Cognate with dialectal German Spill, Icelandic spjall (“discussion, talk”), spjalla (“to discuss, to talk”), guðspjall (“gospel”) and Albanian fjalë (“word”).

This word in other languages

encanto(Español)charme(Français)Zauberspruch(Deutsch)feitiço(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psell
  • sepll
  • spel
  • splel
  • sppell
  • sspell

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psell2sepll2spel1splel2sppell1sspell1
Edit distance from "spell"

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 "spell"?
"spell" is spelled S-P-E-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /spɛl/.
What does "spell" mean?
As a noun, "spell" means: Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.
What words are commonly confused with "spell"?
"spell" is commonly confused with "SPL", "spew", "still". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spell"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spell" is /spɛl/. 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 "spell"?
From Middle English spell, spel, from Old English spell (“news, story”), from Proto-Germanic *spellą (“speech, account, tale”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to tell”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to speak, to sound”) with the s-mobi... 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 "spell", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sword#3,852scary#3,845waves#3,855Wayne#3,856

Similar misspelling depth

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

ward6 variantsratio6 variantsPhil6 variantsdaddy6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list