to-do
"to-do" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“to-do” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A fuss made over something.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | to-do |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “to-do” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for to-do is 5 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for to-do, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From to + do, formed on analogy with ado. Compare affair. The correct English form is to-do, spelled T-O---D-O.
Definition
- 1A fuss made over something.
- 2A task that has been noted as one that must be completed, especially on a list.
Etymology
From to + do, formed on analogy with ado. Compare affair.
This word in other languages
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “to-do”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-O---D-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.