tower

/ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)/

//ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tower” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,031. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,031
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tower · tower · English

tower · rank #3,031 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,031
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stephen

Nearest frequency peer: Stephen (-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 “tower”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tower” 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).

tower vs town
60% similar
tower vs towns
60% similar
tower vs Tyler
40% similar

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

Key facts for tower
PropertyValue
Headwordtower
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)/
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,031
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tower”

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).towerlands 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 “Stephen” (#3,030), “tradition” (#3,032), “stations” (#3,029). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tower” is #3,031. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around tower (IPA /ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,031 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for tower, with forms such as "otwer", "toewr", and "towerr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "town", "towns", "Tyler", 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 tour, tur, tor, from Old English tūr, tor, torr ("tower; rock"; > English tor) and Old French tour, toer, tor; both from Latin turris (“a tower”), Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis) (Hesychius), τύρσις (túrsis). Compare Scots tour, towr, tow… The correct English form is tower, spelled T-O-W-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.
  2. 2
    A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.
  3. 3
    A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.
  4. 4
    A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.
  5. 5
    A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.
  6. 6
    An item of various kinds, such as a computer case, that is higher than it is wide.
  7. 7
    A strong refuge; a defence.
  8. 8
    Each of a set of information technology concerns within a business, which are treated separately so that they can be handled by different providers.
  9. 9
    The sixteenth named (trump or Major Arcana) card in many Tarot decks, usually deemed an ill omen.
  10. 10
    The nineteenth Lenormand card, representing structure, bureaucracy, stability and loneliness.
  11. 11
    A group of giraffes.
  12. 12
    A metal stand used as a pivot to support a punty at a furnace.
  13. 13
    A tall fashionable headdress worn in the time of King William III and Queen Anne.
  14. 14
    High flight; elevation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. an observation tower, an isolated watch tower, a church tower, conning tower
  2. The valley is closed in at the lower end by the village, the church tower and a few roofs being visible through the trees; […]

Etymology

From Middle English tour, tur, tor, from Old English tūr, tor, torr ("tower; rock"; > English tor) and Old French tour, toer, tor; both from Latin turris (“a tower”), Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis) (Hesychius), τύρσις (túrsis). Compare Scots tour, towr, towre (“tower”), West Frisian toer (“tower”), Dutch toren (“tower”), German Turm (“tower”), Danish tårn (“tower”), Swedish torn (“tower”), Icelandic turn (“tower”), Welsh tŵr. Doublet of tor, tourelle, and turret.

Synonyms

donjon

This word in other languages

torre(Español)tour(Français)Turm(Deutsch)torre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otwer
  • toewr
  • towerr
  • towre
  • towwer
  • ttower
  • twoer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

otwer2toewr2towerr1towre2towwer1ttower1twoer2
Edit distance from "tower"

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 "tower"?
"tower" is spelled T-O-W-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)/.
What does "tower" mean?
As a noun, "tower" means: A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.
What words are commonly confused with "tower"?
"tower" is commonly confused with "town", "towns", "Tyler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tower"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tower" is /ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)/. 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 "tower"?
From Middle English tour, tur, tor, from Old English tūr, tor, torr ("tower; rock"; > English tor) and Old French tour, toer, tor; both from Latin turris (“a tower”), Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis) (Hesychius), τύρσις (túrsis). Compare Scots tour,... 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 "tower", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

wheel#3,035roman#3,023reply#3,020Davis#3,052

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Miller7 variantsfaced7 variantsGreek7 variantspride7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list