thesaurus

/θɪˈsɔːɹəs/

//θɪˈsɔːɹəs// noun

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

"thesaurus" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thesaurus” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,879. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,879
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A publication that provides synonyms (and sometimes antonyms and other semantic relations) for the words of a given language.

Corpus desk

Index EN-thesaurus · thesaurus · English

thesaurus · rank #33,879 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,879
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH thane

Nearest frequency peer: thane (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “thesaurus”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “thesaurus” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for thesaurus
PropertyValue
Headwordthesaurus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/θɪˈsɔːɹəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#33,879
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “thesaurus”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).thesauruslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “thane” (#33,878), “thorax” (#33,880), “thrusters” (#33,881). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thesaurus” is #33,879. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around thesaurus (IPA /θɪˈsɔːɹəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,879 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for thesaurus, with forms such as "htesaurus", "tehsaurus", and "theasurus". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 16th century, borrowed from Latin thēsaurus, from Ancient Greek θησαυρός (thēsaurós, “storehouse, treasure”); its current English usage/meaning was established soon after the publication of Peter Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases in 1852. Doubl… The correct English form is thesaurus, spelled T-H-E-S-A-U-R-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A publication that provides synonyms (and sometimes antonyms and other semantic relations) for the words of a given language.
  2. 2
    A dictionary or encyclopedia.
  3. 3
    A hierarchy of subject headings: canonical titles of themes and topics, the titles serving as search keys.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how thesaurus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "Roget" is the leading brand name for a print English thesaurus that lists words under general concepts rather than just close synonyms.
  2. As reference books go, the thesaurus has had a somewhat checkered history, in fact, and has probably occasioned as much bad writing as good.

Etymology

16th century, borrowed from Latin thēsaurus, from Ancient Greek θησαυρός (thēsaurós, “storehouse, treasure”); its current English usage/meaning was established soon after the publication of Peter Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases in 1852. Doublet of treasure.

This word in other languages

tesoro(Español)dictionnaire des synonymes(Français)Thesaurus(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htesaurus
  • tehsaurus
  • theasurus
  • thesaruus
  • thesaurrus
  • thesaursu
  • thesauruss
  • thesauurs
  • thessaurus
  • thesuarus
  • thhesaurus
  • thseaurus
  • tthesaurus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thesaurus - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

htesaurus2tehsaurus2theasurus2thesaruus2thesaurrus1thesaursu2thesauruss1thesauurs2
Edit distance from "thesaurus"

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 "thesaurus"?
"thesaurus" is spelled T-H-E-S-A-U-R-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /θɪˈsɔːɹəs/.
What does "thesaurus" mean?
As a noun, "thesaurus" means: A publication that provides synonyms (and sometimes antonyms and other semantic relations) for the words of a given language.
What are common misspellings of "thesaurus"?
Common misspellings include "htesaurus", "tehsaurus", "theasurus", "thesaruus", "thesaurrus". The correct spelling is "thesaurus".
How do you pronounce "thesaurus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thesaurus" is /θɪˈsɔːɹəs/. 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 "thesaurus"?
16th century, borrowed from Latin thēsaurus, from Ancient Greek θησαυρός (thēsaurós, “storehouse, treasure”); its current English usage/meaning was established soon after the publication of Peter Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases in 1... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "thesaurus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

thrusters#33,881telepathy#33,876strongman#33,862statesmen#33,859

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

syringes13 variantswomanhood13 variantsshortness13 variantsacronyms13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list