tailed

/teɪld/

//teɪld// verb

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

"tailed" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tailed” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,202. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,202
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of tail

Corpus desk

Index EN-tailed · tailed · English

tailed · rank #18,202 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,202
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH swallowing

Nearest frequency peer: swallowing (-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 “tailed”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tailed” 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).

tailed vs tied
67% similar
tailed vs tale
67% similar
tailed vs tile
67% similar

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

Key facts for tailed
PropertyValue
Headwordtailed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/teɪld/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,202
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tailed”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).tailedlands 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 “swallowing” (#18,201), “temperament” (#18,203), “surveyor” (#18,200). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tailed” is #18,202. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around tailed (IPA /teɪld/), averb. Corpus frequency is #18,202 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of tail".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for tailed, with forms such as "atiled", "taield", and "tailde". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tied", "tale", "tile", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tayled; equivalent to tail + -ed. The correct English form is tailed, spelled T-A-I-L-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of tail

Etymology

From Middle English tayled; equivalent to tail + -ed.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atiled
  • taield
  • tailde
  • tailedd
  • tailled
  • talied
  • tialed
  • ttailed

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tailed - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

atiled2taield2tailde2tailedd1tailled1talied2tialed2ttailed1
Edit distance from "tailed"

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 "tailed"?
"tailed" is spelled T-A-I-L-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /teɪld/.
What does "tailed" mean?
As a verb, "tailed" means: simple past and past participle of tail
What words are commonly confused with "tailed"?
"tailed" is commonly confused with "tied", "tale", "tile". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tailed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tailed" is /teɪld/. 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 "tailed"?
From Middle English tayled; equivalent to tail + -ed. 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 "tailed", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tyrant#18,207sparse#18,193wastes#18,215soften#18,188

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

slump8 variantsannuity8 variantsawaken8 variantsPersia8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list