touchstone

Name: touchstone, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈtʌt͡ʃstəʊn/

//ˈtʌt͡ʃstəʊn// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“touchstone” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,119. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,119
frequency rank, English: 3,151
“T” headwords: 15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stone used to verify the quality of gold alloys by rubbing them in order to leave a visible trace.

Corpus desk

Index EN-touchstone · touchstone · English

touchstone · rank #35,119 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #35,119
LEN-MEGA 10 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 15 variants
BOOK-MID 3,151
PHOTO-FINISH tosh

Nearest frequency peer: tosh (-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.

Topsy

64,885
torsion

64,884
tosh

64,883
touchstone

64,882
tramway

64,881
treatable

64,880

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

Key facts for touchstone
Property	Value
Headword	touchstone
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈtʌt͡ʃstəʊn/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#35,119
Misspellings tracked	15
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “touchstone”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).touchstonelands here:

#35,119

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “tosh” (#35,118), “tramway” (#35,120), “torsion” (#35,117). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “touchstone” is #35,119. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around touchstone (IPA /ˈtʌt͡ʃstəʊn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,119 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for touchstone, with forms such as "otuchstone", "tocuhstone", and "toucchstone". 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. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From touch + stone. The correct English form is touchstone, spelled T-O-U-C-H-S-T-O-N-E.

Definition

1
A stone used to verify the quality of gold alloys by rubbing them in order to leave a visible trace.
2
A standard of comparison or evaluation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

Near-synonym: comparator
The foregoing doctrine affords us also a touchstone for the trial of spirits.

Etymology

From touch + stone.

This word in other languages

piedra de toque(Español)touchau(Français)Prüfstein(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

otuchstone
tocuhstone
toucchstone
touchhstone
touchsotne
touchsstone
touchstnoe
touchstoen
touchstonne
touchsttone
touchtsone
toucshtone
touhcstone
ttouchstone
tuochstone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of touchstone - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "touchstone"

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 "touchstone"?

"touchstone" is spelled T-O-U-C-H-S-T-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʌt͡ʃstəʊn/.

What does "touchstone" mean?

As a noun, "touchstone" means: A stone used to verify the quality of gold alloys by rubbing them in order to leave a visible trace.

What are common misspellings of "touchstone"?

Common misspellings include "otuchstone", "tocuhstone", "toucchstone", "touchhstone", "touchsotne". The correct spelling is "touchstone".

How do you pronounce "touchstone"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "touchstone" is /ˈtʌt͡ʃstəʊn/. 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 "touchstone"?

From touch + stone. 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 "touchstone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unleashing#35,136 stunningly#35,100 unpunished#35,138 Stillwater#35,098

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

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