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support

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "support", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "support" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "support" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

support is aEnglishverb. It means: To help keep from falling. Pronounced /səˈpɔːt/. It ranks #276 in English word frequency. Often confused with suppose and supported.

Key facts for support
PropertyValue
Headwordsupport
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/səˈpɔːt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#276
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of support in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for support is 7 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /səˈpɔːt/. Corpus data places it at rank #276 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for support, with forms such as "spuport", "ssupport", and "supoprt". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "suppose", "supported", "supporter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English supporten, from Old French supporter, from Latin supportō. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is support, spelled S-U-P-P-O-R-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To help keep from falling.
  2. 2
    To back or favor a cause, party, etc., mentally or with concrete aid
  3. 3
    To provide sustenance or maintenance for; to sustain in integrity or livelihood.
  4. 4
    To help, particularly financially; to subsidize.
  5. 5
    To provide evidence for; to lend credibility to.
  6. 6
    To serve, as in a customer-oriented position; to give support to.
  7. 7
    To assist or be involved with, but not be responsible for.
  8. 8
    To answer questions and resolve problems regarding something sold.
  9. 9
    To be designed to provide capacity for; to work or be compatible with (a part, accessory, file type, program, algorithm, etc.).
  10. 10
    To endure without being overcome; bear; undergo; tolerate.
  11. 11
    To play a lesser part in the same production with (a star performer).

Etymology

From Middle English supporten, from Old French supporter, from Latin supportō.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: spuport,ssupport,supoprt,suport,supporrt,supportt,suppotr,supprot,uspport

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for support

Misspelling Variants of "support"

spuport7ssupport8supoprt7suport6supporrt8supportt8suppotr7supprot7
Misspelling Variants of "support"

Frequency rank: #276 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "support"?
"support" is spelled S-U-P-P-O-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈpɔːt/.
What does "support" mean?
As a verb, "support" means: To help keep from falling.
What words are commonly confused with "support"?
"support" is commonly confused with "suppose", "supported", "supporter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "support"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "support" is /səˈpɔːt/. 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 "support"?
From Middle English supporten, from Old French supporter, from Latin supportō. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.