target
/ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/
"target" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“target” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,619 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,619
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile.
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 | target |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #1,619 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “target” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for target is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,619 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 18 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 target, with forms such as "atrget", "tagret", and "taregt". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "tart", "tarot", "taught", 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 French targette, targuete, diminutive of targe (“light shield”), from Old French, from Frankish *targa (“buckler”), akin to Old Norse targa (“small round shield”) (whence also Old English targe, targa (“shield”)) from Proto-Germanic *targǭ (“edg… The correct English form is target, spelled T-A-R-G-E-T.
Definition
- 1A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile.
- 2A goal or objective.
- 3An object of criticism or ridicule.
- 4A person, place, or thing that is frequently attacked, criticized, or ridiculed.
- 5A kind of shield:
- 6A kind of shield:
- 7A kind of shield:
- 8The pattern or arrangement of a series of hits made by a marksman on a butt or mark.
- 9The sliding crosspiece, or vane, on a leveling staff.
- 10A conspicuous disk attached to a switch lever to show its position, or for use as a signal.
- 11the number of runs that the side batting last needs to score in the final innings in order to win
- 12The tenor of a metaphor.
- 13The codomain of a function; the object at which a morphism points.
- 14The translated version of a document, or the language into which translation occurs.
- 15A person (or group of people) that a person or organization is trying to employ or to have as a customer, audience etc.
- 16A thin cut; a slice; specifically, of lamb, a piece consisting of the neck and breast joints.
- 17A tassel or pendant.
- 18A shred; a tatter.
Etymology
From Middle French targette, targuete, diminutive of targe (“light shield”), from Old French, from Frankish *targa (“buckler”), akin to Old Norse targa (“small round shield”) (whence also Old English targe, targa (“shield”)) from Proto-Germanic *targǭ (“edge”), from Proto-Indo-European *derǵʰ- (“fenced lot”). Akin to Old High German zarga (“side wall, rim”) (German Zarge (“frame”)), Spanish tarjeta (“card”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: atrget,tagret,taregt,targett,targget,targte,tarrget,traget,ttarget
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of target - 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 “target”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-A-R-G-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “tart” - see the side-by-side comparison. target vs tart
- 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.