summit
/ˈsʌmɪt/
"summit" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“summit” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,337 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,337
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | summit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsʌmɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #4,337 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “summit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for summit is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsʌmɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,337 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for summit, with forms such as "smumit", "ssummit", and "sumimt". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "summon", "suit", "summa", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *upó The noun is derived from Late Middle English somet, somete (“head, top”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman sumet and Middle French sommet (masculine), somete, sommette (“top of a thing; highest point of a mountain”) (feminine) (modern Fren… The correct English form is summit, spelled S-U-M-M-I-T.
Definition
- 1The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
- 2The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
- 3The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
- 4The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
- 5The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
- 6The highest point of achievement, development, etc., that can be reached; the acme, the pinnacle.
- 7The highest level of political leadership.
- 8An assembly or gathering of the leaders of countries to discuss issues of international significance; also (loosely), an important or high-level gathering or meeting.
Etymology
PIE word *upó The noun is derived from Late Middle English somet, somete (“head, top”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman sumet and Middle French sommet (masculine), somete, sommette (“top of a thing; highest point of a mountain”) (feminine) (modern French sommet), from Old French somet, sommette, from som, sum (“highest point, summit”) + -et (suffix forming diminutive masculine nouns), -ete, -ette (suffix forming diminutive feminine nouns). Som, sum are derived from Latin summum (“top, summit”), a noun use of the neuter of summus (“greatest, highest; top, uppermost”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over”) + *-m̥mos, *-tm̥mos (“suffix forming superlative adjectives”)). The modern English spelling was influenced by summity (“height or top of a thing; utmost degree, perfection”) (obsolete). The verb is derived from the noun.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: smumit,ssummit,sumimt,sumit,summitt,summti,usmmit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of summit - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "summit"?
What does "summit" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "summit"?
How do you pronounce "summit"?
What is the origin of the word "summit"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “summit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-M-M-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsʌmɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “summon” - see the side-by-side comparison. summit vs summon
- 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.