tether
/ˈtɛðə/
"tether" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tether” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,619 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #30,619
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement.
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 | tether |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɛðə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #30,619 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tether” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tether is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɛðə/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,619 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for tether, with forms such as "tehter", "tetehr", and "tetherr". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "tithe", "together", "tethered", 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 English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr, Swedish tjuder); both from Proto-Germanic *teudrą (“rope; cord; shaft”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dewtro-, from Proto-Indo-Euro… The correct English form is tether, spelled T-E-T-H-E-R.
Definition
- 1A rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement.
- 2The limit of one's abilities, resources, patience, etc.
- 3An attachment to a place, time, entity or person.
- 4A strong rope or line that connects a sailor's safety harness to the boat's jackstay.
Etymology
From Middle English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr, Swedish tjuder); both from Proto-Germanic *teudrą (“rope; cord; shaft”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dewtro-, from Proto-Indo-European *dew- (“to tie”), or from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Cognate with North German Tüder (“tether for binding the cattle”), Swedish tjuder (“tether for binding cattle”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: tehter,tetehr,tetherr,tethher,tethre,tetther,tteher,ttether
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tether - 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.
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 “tether”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-T-H-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɛðə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “tithe” - see the side-by-side comparison. tether vs tithe
- 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.