support
/səˈpɔːt/
"support" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“support” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #276 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #276
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To help keep from falling.
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 | support |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /səˈpɔːt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #276 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “support” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for support is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, 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 generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for support, with forms such as "spuport", "ssupport", and "supoprt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, 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, 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 supporten, from Old French supporter, from Latin supportō. The correct English form is support, spelled S-U-P-P-O-R-T.
Definition
- 1To help keep from falling.
- 2To back or favor a cause, party, etc., mentally or with concrete aid
- 3To provide sustenance or maintenance for; to sustain in integrity or livelihood.
- 4To help, particularly financially; to subsidize.
- 5To provide evidence for; to lend credibility to.
- 6To serve, as in a customer-oriented position; to give support to.
- 7To assist or be involved with, but not be responsible for.
- 8To answer questions and resolve problems regarding something sold.
- 9To be designed to provide capacity for; to work or be compatible with (a part, accessory, file type, program, algorithm, etc.).
- 10To endure without being overcome; bear; undergo; tolerate.
- 11To 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
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of support - 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
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Using “support”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-P-P-O-R-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /səˈpɔːt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “suppose” - see the side-by-side comparison. support vs suppose
- 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.