theirs
/ðɛəz/
"theirs" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“theirs” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,623 in English word frequency and used as a pronoun.
- #7,623
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That or those belonging to them; the possessive case of they, used without a following noun.
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 | theirs |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Pronoun |
| IPA | /ðɛəz/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #7,623 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “theirs” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for theirs is 6 letters long, classified as a pronoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ðɛəz/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,623 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 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for theirs, with forms such as "hteirs", "tehirs", and "theirrs". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "this", "there", "third", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English theires, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to their + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced theirn (from Middle English theiren, formed by analogy to mine, thine) in standard speech. The correct English form is theirs, spelled T-H-E-I-R-S.
Definition
- 1That or those belonging to them; the possessive case of they, used without a following noun.
- 2Their house or home.
Etymology
From Middle English theires, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to their + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced theirn (from Middle English theiren, formed by analogy to mine, thine) in standard speech.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hteirs,tehirs,theirrs,theirss,theisr,theris,thheirs,thiers,ttheirs
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of theirs - 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
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Using “theirs”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-H-E-I-R-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ðɛəz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “this” - see the side-by-side comparison. theirs vs this
- 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.