tilde

/ˈtɪldə/

//ˈtɪldə// noun

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

"tilde" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tilde” is uncommon English (frequency #76,400 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,400
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A diacritical mark ⟨˜⟩ placed above a letter to modify its pronunciation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tilde · tilde · English

tilde · rank #76,400 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,400
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH thrifting

Nearest frequency peer: thrifting (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “tilde”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “tilde” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tilde
PropertyValue
Headwordtilde
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɪldə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#76,400
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tilde” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).tildefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “thrifting” (#76,399), “timpani” (#76,401), “thame” (#76,396). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tilde” is #76,400. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tilde is uncommon English at frequency #76,400 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtɪldə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 10 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for tilde, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish tilde, from Latin titulus (“superscript”) or from tildar. Doublet of titer/titre, title, titlo, tittle, and titulus. Compare Portuguese til. The correct English form is tilde, spelled T-I-L-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A diacritical mark ⟨˜⟩ placed above a letter to modify its pronunciation.
  2. 2
    A diacritical mark ⟨˜⟩ placed above a letter to modify its pronunciation.
  3. 3
    A diacritical mark ⟨˜⟩ placed above a letter to modify its pronunciation.
  4. 4
    A diacritical mark ⟨˜⟩ placed above a letter to modify its pronunciation.
  5. 5
    A symbol ⟨~⟩, with various names and uses, also known as swung dash or wave dash. In the computer industry, various other names may be used, such as squiggle and twiddle.
  6. 6
    A symbol ⟨~⟩, with various names and uses, also known as swung dash or wave dash. In the computer industry, various other names may be used, such as squiggle and twiddle.
  7. 7
    A symbol ⟨~⟩, with various names and uses, also known as swung dash or wave dash. In the computer industry, various other names may be used, such as squiggle and twiddle.
  8. 8
    A symbol ⟨~⟩, with various names and uses, also known as swung dash or wave dash. In the computer industry, various other names may be used, such as squiggle and twiddle.
  9. 9
    A symbol ⟨~⟩, with various names and uses, also known as swung dash or wave dash. In the computer industry, various other names may be used, such as squiggle and twiddle.
  10. 10
    A symbol ⟨~⟩, with various names and uses, also known as swung dash or wave dash. In the computer industry, various other names may be used, such as squiggle and twiddle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. California, like several other states, prohibits the use of diacritical marks or accents on official documents. That means no tilde (~), no accent grave (`), no umlaut (¨) and certainly no cedilla (¸).
  2. The tilde was used similarly in Portuguese on vowels to show that the letter bearing the tilde should be pronounced nasally.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish tilde, from Latin titulus (“superscript”) or from tildar. Doublet of titer/titre, title, titlo, tittle, and titulus. Compare Portuguese til.

This word in other languages

tilde(Español)tilde(Français)Schlangenlinie(Deutsch)til(Português)

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 "tilde"?
"tilde" is spelled T-I-L-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɪldə/.
What does "tilde" mean?
As a noun, "tilde" means: A diacritical mark ⟨˜⟩ placed above a letter to modify its pronunciation.
How do you pronounce "tilde"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tilde" is /ˈtɪldə/. 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 "tilde"?
Borrowed from Spanish tilde, from Latin titulus (“superscript”) or from tildar. Doublet of titer/titre, title, titlo, tittle, and titulus. Compare Portuguese til. 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 "tilde", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

thame#76,396tenon#76,393tengu#76,392tatty#76,384

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list