township

/ˈtaʊnʃɪp/

//ˈtaʊnʃɪp// noun

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

"township" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“township” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,404. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,404
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The territory of a town.

Corpus desk

Index EN-township · township · English

township · rank #7,404 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,404
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH touches

Nearest frequency peer: touches (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “township”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “township” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for township
PropertyValue
Headwordtownship
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtaʊnʃɪp/
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,404
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “township” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).township lands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around township (IPA /ˈtaʊnʃɪp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,404 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for township, with forms such as "otwnship", "tonwship", and "townhsip". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English towneship, townschip, tounshipe, tunscipe, from Old English tūnsċipe (“the inhabitants of a town; township”), equivalent to town + -ship. The correct English form is township, spelled T-O-W-N-S-H-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    The territory of a town.
  2. 2
    A subdivision of a county.
  3. 3
    An area set aside for nonwhite occupation.
  4. 4
    A nonwhite (usually subeconomic) area attached to a city.
  5. 5
    A small town.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The train is usually crowded and half the township of Forres seems to turn out to watch it go off.
  2. Furthermore, everyone knows that the crops grown at Chou-Shui River are of high quality, like the rice of Siluo Township, watermelons of Erlun Township, garlic of Cihtong Township, flowers of Shijo Township, guava of Shetou Township, and so on.

Etymology

From Middle English towneship, townschip, tounshipe, tunscipe, from Old English tūnsċipe (“the inhabitants of a town; township”), equivalent to town + -ship.

This word in other languages

municipio(Español)canton(Français)Township(Deutsch)municipalidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otwnship
  • tonwship
  • townhsip
  • townnship
  • townshhip
  • townshipp
  • townshpi
  • townsihp
  • townsship
  • towsnhip
  • towwnship
  • ttownship
  • twonship

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

otwnship2tonwship2townhsip2townnship1townshhip1townshipp1townshpi2townsihp2
Edit distance from "township"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "township"?
"township" is spelled T-O-W-N-S-H-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtaʊnʃɪp/.
What does "township" mean?
As a noun, "township" means: The territory of a town.
What are common misspellings of "township"?
Common misspellings include "otwnship", "tonwship", "townhsip", "townnship", "townshhip". The correct spelling is "township".
How do you pronounce "township"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "township" is /ˈtaʊnʃɪp/. 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 "township"?
From Middle English towneship, townschip, tounshipe, tunscipe, from Old English tūnsċipe (“the inhabitants of a town; township”), equivalent to town + -ship. 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 "township", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stepping#7,401Stanford#7,400spinning#7,399writings#7,411

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

shifting13 variantssensible13 variantsregulated13 variantscuriosity13 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "township". Here's where to go from here.

  • 13 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,404 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list