tame

/teɪm/

//teɪm// adj

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

"tame" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tame” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,822 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#13,822
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Accustomed to human contact.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tame vs te
50% similar
tame vs TM
0% similar
tame vs the
50% similar

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

Key facts for tame
PropertyValue
Headwordtame
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/teɪm/
Letters4
Frequency rank#13,822
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tame” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). tame lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for tame is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /teɪm/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,822 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for tame, with forms such as "atme", "tamme", and "tmae". 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, "te", "TM", "the", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tame, tome, weak inflection forms of Middle English tam, tom, from Old English tam, tom (“domesticated, tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *tam (“tame”), from Proto-Germanic *tamaz (“brought into the home, tame”), from Proto-Indo-European … The correct English form is tame, spelled T-A-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Accustomed to human contact.
  2. 2
    Docile or tranquil towards humans.
  3. 3
    Of a person, well-behaved; not radical or extreme.
  4. 4
    Of a non-Westernised person, accustomed to European society.
  5. 5
    Not exciting.
  6. 6
    Crushed; subdued; depressed; spiritless.
  7. 7
    Capable of being represented as a finite closed polygonal chain.

Etymology

From Middle English tame, tome, weak inflection forms of Middle English tam, tom, from Old English tam, tom (“domesticated, tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *tam (“tame”), from Proto-Germanic *tamaz (“brought into the home, tame”), from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“to tame, dominate”). Cognate with Scots tam, tame (“tame”), Saterland Frisian tom (“tame”), West Frisian tam (“tame”), Dutch tam (“tame”), Low German Low German tamm, tahm (“tame”), German zahm (“tame”), Danish tam (“tame”), Swedish tam (“tame”), Icelandic tamur (“tame”). The verb is from Middle English tamen, temen, temien, from Old English temian (“to tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *tammjan, from Proto-Germanic *tamjaną (“to tame”).

This word in other languages

manso(Español)apprivoisé(Français)zahm(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: atme,tamme,tmae,ttame

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tame - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

atme2tamme1tmae2ttame1
Edit distance from "tame"

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 "tame"?
"tame" is spelled T-A-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /teɪm/.
What does "tame" mean?
As an adjective, "tame" means: Accustomed to human contact.
What words are commonly confused with "tame"?
"tame" is commonly confused with "te", "TM", "the". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tame"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tame" is /teɪm/. 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 "tame"?
From Middle English tame, tome, weak inflection forms of Middle English tam, tom, from Old English tam, tom (“domesticated, tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *tam (“tame”), from Proto-Germanic *tamaz (“brought into the home, tame”), from Proto-Indo... 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.

Using “tame”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is T-A-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /teɪm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “te” - see the side-by-side comparison. tame vs te
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list