to begin with
"to-begin-with" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“to begin with” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Initially, at first, at the very start.
Corpus desk
Index EN-to-begin-with · to begin with · English
to begin with · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "T" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | to begin with |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “to begin with” in English
Rare enough to double-check
to begin with is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for to begin with in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is to begin with, spelled T-O- -B-E-G-I-N- -W-I-T-H.
Definition
- 1Initially, at first, at the very start.
- 2In the first place.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how to begin with appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
To begin with, we moved the furniture out of the room.
Double my wages? You weren't paying me anything to begin with!
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.