tongs

/tɒŋz/

//tɒŋz// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"tongs" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tongs” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,257. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,257
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An instrument or tool used for picking things up without touching them with the hands or fingers, consisting of two slats or grips hinged at the end or in the middle, and sometimes including a spri...

Corpus desk

Index EN-tongs · tongs · English

tongs · rank #37,257 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,257
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tolerances

Nearest frequency peer: tolerances (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tongs”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tongs” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tongs vs TOS
0% similar
tongs vs Tony
40% similar
tongs vs tons
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tongs
PropertyValue
Headwordtongs
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɒŋz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#37,257
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tongs”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).tongslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “tolerances” (#37,256), “topographical” (#37,258), “togetherness” (#37,255). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tongs” is #37,257. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around tongs (IPA /tɒŋz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,257 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for tongs, with forms such as "otngs", "tnogs", and "togns". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TOS", "Tony", "tons", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: tong ("tool for manipulating things in a fire") + -s The correct English form is tongs, spelled T-O-N-G-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An instrument or tool used for picking things up without touching them with the hands or fingers, consisting of two slats or grips hinged at the end or in the middle, and sometimes including a spring to open the grips.
  2. 2
    A large scissors-like two-piece center-hinged forged-iron implement with oval-loop handles and with pointed tips turned inward (in the same plane as and perpendicular to the handles) to facilitate lifting and carrying a block of ice. Often called ice tongs.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how tongs appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…].

Etymology

tong ("tool for manipulating things in a fire") + -s

This word in other languages

pinzas(Español)pinces(Français)Zange(Deutsch)tenaz(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otngs
  • tnogs
  • togns
  • tonggs
  • tongss
  • tonngs
  • tonsg
  • ttongs

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tongs - 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.

otngs2tnogs2togns2tonggs1tongss1tonngs1tonsg2ttongs1
Edit distance from "tongs"

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 "tongs"?
"tongs" is spelled T-O-N-G-S. The IPA pronunciation is /tɒŋz/.
What does "tongs" mean?
As a noun, "tongs" means: An instrument or tool used for picking things up without touching them with the hands or fingers, consisting of two slats or grips hinged at the end or in the middle, and sometimes including a spri...
What words are commonly confused with "tongs"?
"tongs" is commonly confused with "TOS", "Tony", "tons". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tongs"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tongs" is /tɒŋz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "tongs"?
tong ("tool for manipulating things in a fire") + -s See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tongs", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trite#37,261sloop#37,227sawed#37,213Rojas#37,206

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

thrall8 variantsWilkie8 variantsreassess8 variantsradium8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list