# tote

> English word · Noun · IPA /təʊt/ · frequency rank #20,518

## Definitions
1. A tote bag.
2. A heavy burden.
3. A kind of plastic box used for transporting goods.
4. The principal handle of a handplane, for gripping the plane.

## Etymology
Possibly from Middle Low German tûte, tǖte (“horn, conical paper bag”), whence also German Tute (“horn, bugle”) and German Tüte (“bag, paper bag”). Compare also Scots tout (“a drinking vessel”), Saterland Frisian Tüütje (“paper bag”), West Frisian tút (“spout, toot, kiss”), Dutch tuit (“horn, spout, nozzle”), Swedish tut (“spout”), Danish tud (“spout, nozzle”), Old Norse tútna (“to be blown up”). Possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tut(t)- (“to stick out, protrude”).
Alternatively, from a Bantu language; compare Kongo tota (“to pick up”), Kimbundu tuta (“to carry, load”), Swahili tuta (“to pile, carry”).

## Easily confused with
- **TT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tt)
- **toy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-toy)
- **tow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tow)
- **Tue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tue)
- **tre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tre)
- **tut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tut)
- **tse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tse)
- **TTC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-ttc)
- **tye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tye)
- **TOV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tov)
- **TTP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-ttp)
- **true** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-true)
- **type** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-type)
- **town** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-town)
- **tour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tour)
- **tree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tree)
- **tube** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tube)
- **tune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tune)
- **toys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-toys)
- **tyre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-tyre)

## Common misspellings (5)
`otte`, `toet`, `totte`, `ttoe`, `ttote`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tote