to the letter
"to-the-letter" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“to the letter” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Literally, exactly, following the rules as written.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | to the letter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “to the letter” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for to the letter is 13 letters long, classified as an adverb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Literally, exactly, following the rules as written.".
No misspelling variants are generated for to the letter in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is to the letter, spelled T-O- -T-H-E- -L-E-T-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1Literally, exactly, following the rules as written.
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 the letter”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-O- -T-H-E- -L-E-T-T-E-R - 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.