swimming

/ˈswɪmɪŋ/

//ˈswɪmɪŋ// noun

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

"swimming" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“swimming” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,457. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,457
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act or art of sustaining and propelling the body in water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-swimming · swimming · English

swimming · rank #3,457 · 11 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,457
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH strategic

Nearest frequency peer: strategic (-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 “swimming”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “swimming” 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).

swimming vs swinging
75% similar
swimming vs swirling
75% similar
swimming vs summing
75% similar

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

Key facts for swimming
PropertyValue
Headwordswimming
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈswɪmɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#3,457
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “swimming”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).swimminglands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “strategic” (#3,456), “welfare” (#3,458), “stages” (#3,455). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “swimming” is #3,457. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around swimming (IPA /ˈswɪmɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,457 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The act or art of sustaining and propelling the body in water.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for swimming, with forms such as "siwmming", "sswimming", and "swimimng". 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, "swinging", "swirling", "summing", 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 swymmynge. Equivalent to swim (“to move through water”, verb) + -ing (suffix forming gerunds). The correct English form is swimming, spelled S-W-I-M-M-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act or art of sustaining and propelling the body in water.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Triathlon competitors take part in open water swimming.
  2. The daring adventures of the American people in their scalings of the Alps and the Rocky mountains and in their swimmings across the Niagara rapids […]

Etymology

From Middle English swymmynge. Equivalent to swim (“to move through water”, verb) + -ing (suffix forming gerunds).

This word in other languages

natación(Español)natation(Français)Schwimmen(Deutsch)natação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • siwmming
  • sswimming
  • swimimng
  • swiming
  • swimmign
  • swimmingg
  • swimminng
  • swimmnig
  • swmiming
  • swwimming
  • wsimming

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of swimming - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

siwmming2sswimming1swimimng2swiming1swimmign2swimmingg1swimminng1swimmnig2
Edit distance from "swimming"

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 "swimming"?
"swimming" is spelled S-W-I-M-M-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈswɪmɪŋ/.
What does "swimming" mean?
As a noun, "swimming" means: The act or art of sustaining and propelling the body in water.
What words are commonly confused with "swimming"?
"swimming" is commonly confused with "swinging", "swirling", "summing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "swimming"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swimming" is /ˈswɪmɪŋ/. 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 "swimming"?
From Middle English swymmynge. Equivalent to swim (“to move through water”, verb) + -ing (suffix forming gerunds). 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 "swimming", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

romantic#3,451ceremony#3,474designer#3,479employed#3,486

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

sisters11 variantsalright11 variantspersons11 variantshelpful11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list