teddy
/ˈtɛdi/
"teddy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“teddy” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,615 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #8,615
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Abbreviation of teddy bear.
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 | teddy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɛdi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #8,615 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “teddy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for teddy is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɛdi/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,615 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for teddy, with forms such as "etddy", "tdedy", and "teddyy". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "tend", "Todd", "tidy", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: See teddy bear. The correct English form is teddy, spelled T-E-D-D-Y.
Definition
- 1Abbreviation of teddy bear.
- 2Any stuffed toy.
Etymology
See teddy bear.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: etddy,tdedy,teddyy,tedy,tedyd,tteddy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of teddy - 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.
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 "teddy"?
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Using “teddy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-D-D-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɛdi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “tend” - see the side-by-side comparison. teddy vs tend
- 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.