trailing
/ˈtɹeɪ.lɪŋ/
"trailing" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“trailing” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,038. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #14,038
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 16
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - That converge in the direction of travel.
Corpus desk
Index EN-trailing · trailing · English
trailing · rank #14,038 · 12 variants · 16 confusables
- FREQ-MID #14,038
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
- VAR-MID 12 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH titanium
Nearest frequency peer: titanium (-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 “trailing”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- teasing
teasing
85,966 corpus weight
- telegram
telegram
85,965 corpus weight
- titanium
titanium
85,964 corpus weight
- trailing
trailing
85,963 corpus weight
- tuck
tuck
85,962 corpus weight
- turbulence
turbulence
85,961 corpus weight
What this shows “trailing” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | trailing |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈtɹeɪ.lɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,038 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 16 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “trailing”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around trailing (IPA /ˈtɹeɪ.lɪŋ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #14,038 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for trailing, with forms such as "rtailing", "tariling", and "traiilng". 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. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "training", "trolling", "trapping", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is trailing, spelled T-R-A-I-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1That converge in the direction of travel.
- 2That follows behind; especially, that is attached and pulled behind.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how trailing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
On the far hillside we are approaching can be descried a bridge on the first section (Ruabon–Llangollen) of the important G.W.R. branch to Dolgelley, which will shortly join our main line by means of a trailing junction.
the trailing railcars
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- rtailing
- tariling
- traiilng
- trailign
- trailingg
- trailinng
- trailling
- trailnig
- traliing
- trialing
- trrailing
- ttrailing
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of trailing - 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.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "trailing", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).