token
/ˈtəʊkən/
"token" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“token” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,410. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #9,410
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Something serving as an expression of something else.
Corpus desk
Index EN-token · token · English
token · rank #9,410 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,410
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH Timothy
Nearest frequency peer: Timothy (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “token”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- tee
tee
90,594 corpus weight
- Timothy
Timothy
90,592 corpus weight
- token
token
90,591 corpus weight
- tornado
tornado
90,590 corpus weight
- Tracy
Tracy
90,589 corpus weight
- tunes
tunes
90,588 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “token” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | token |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtəʊkən/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #9,410 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “token” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around token (IPA /ˈtəʊkən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,410 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 27 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for token, with forms such as "otken", "tkoen", and "toekn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ton", "town", "tone", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign, symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną (“indicator, symbol, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rather than *h … The correct English form is token, spelled T-O-K-E-N.
Definition
- 1Something serving as an expression of something else.
- 2A keepsake.
- 3A piece of stamped metal or plastic, etc., used as a form of currency; a voucher that can be exchanged for goods or services.
- 4A small physical object, often designed to give the appearance of a common thing, used to represent a person or character in a board game or other situation.
- 5A minor attempt for appearance's sake, or to minimally comply with a requirement; a formality.
- 6A minor attempt for appearance's sake, or to minimally comply with a requirement; a formality.
- 7Evidence, proof; a confirming detail; physical trace, mark, footprint.
- 8Support for a belief; grounds for an opinion.
- 9An extraordinary event serving as evidence of supernatural power.
- 10An object or disclosure to attest or authenticate the bearer or an instruction.
- 11A seal guaranteeing the quality of an item.
- 12Something given or shown as a symbol or guarantee of authority or right; a sign of authenticity, of power, good faith.
- 13A tally.
- 14A particular thing to which a concept applies.
- 15An atomic piece of data, such as a word, for which a meaning may be inferred during parsing.
- 16A conceptual object that can be possessed by a computer, process, etc. in order to regulate a turn-taking system such as a token ring network.
- 17A meaningless placeholder used as a substitute for sensitive data.
- 18A lexeme; a basic, grammatically indivisible unit of a language such as a keyword, operator or identifier.
- 19A single example of a certain word in a text or corpus.
- 20A characteristic sign of a disease or of a bodily disorder, a symptom; a sign of a bodily condition, recovery, or health.
- 21A livid spot upon the body, indicating, or supposed to indicate, the approach of death.
- 22Ten and a half quires, or, commonly, 250 sheets, of paper printed on both sides; also, in some cases, the same number of sheets printed on one side, or half the number printed on both sides.
- 23A bit of leather having a peculiar mark designating a particular miner. Each hewer sent one of these with each corf or tub he had hewn.
- 24A thin bed of coal indicating the existence of a thicker seam at no great distance.
- 25A physical object used for exchange between drivers and signalmen on single track lines.
- 26In a loom, a colored signal to show the weaver which shuttle to use.
- 27A piece of metal given beforehand to each person in the congregation who is permitted to partake of the Lord's Supper.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how token appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
According to the Bible, the rainbow is a token of God's covenant with Noah.
Please accept this bustier as a token of our time together.
Etymology
From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign, symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną (“indicator, symbol, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rather than *h by Kluge's law. Cognate with Scots takin, taiken (“token, sign”), Saterland Frisian Teken (“sign, symbol”), West Frisian teken (“sign, mark, symbol”), Dutch teken (“sign, indication, symbol”), German Low German Teken (“sign, symbol”), German Zeichen (“sign, token”), Danish tegn (“sign, token, character”), Swedish tecken (“sign, indication”), Faroese tekn, tekin (“mark, sign, signal”), Icelandic teikn (“sign, omen”), Icelandic tákn (“symbol”). The verb is from Middle English toknen, from Old English tācnian.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- otken
- tkoen
- toekn
- tokenn
- tokken
- tokne
- ttoken
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of token - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "token"?
What does "token" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "token"?
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What is the origin of the word "token"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "token", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "token". Here's where to go from here.
- "token" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ton". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #9,410 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.