tome
/təʊm/
"tome" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tome” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,247 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #22,247
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One in a series of volumes.
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 | tome |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /təʊm/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #22,247 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tome” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tome is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /təʊm/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,247 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for tome, with forms such as "otme", "tmoe", and "toem". 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, "too", "top", "toy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French tome, from Latin tomus (“section of larger work”), from Ancient Greek τόμος (tómos, “section, roll of papyrus, volume”), from τέμνω (témnō, “I cut, separate”). The correct English form is tome, spelled T-O-M-E.
Definition
- 1One in a series of volumes.
- 2A large or scholarly book.
Etymology
From Middle French tome, from Latin tomus (“section of larger work”), from Ancient Greek τόμος (tómos, “section, roll of papyrus, volume”), from τέμνω (témnō, “I cut, separate”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: otme,tmoe,toem,tomme,ttome
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tome - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "tome"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “tome”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-O-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /təʊm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “too” - see the side-by-side comparison. tome vs too
- 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.