trust

/tɹʌst/

//tɹʌst// noun

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

The verdict

“trust” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #780. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#780
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-trust · trust · English

trust · rank #780 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #780
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH you've

Nearest frequency peer: you've (+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 “trust”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “trust” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

trust vs tut
60% similar
trust vs tusk
60% similar
trust vs tuft
60% similar

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

Key facts for trust
PropertyValue
Headwordtrust
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹʌst/
Letters5
Frequency rank#780
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “trust” sits in English frequency

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).trustlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “you've” (#781), “size” (#778), “central” (#782). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around trust (IPA /tɹʌst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #780 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for trust, with forms such as "rtust", "trrust", and "trsut". 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, "tut", "tusk", "tuft", 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 trust, trost (“trust, protection”). Long considered a borrowing from Old Norse traust (“confidence, help, protection”), from Proto-Germanic *traustą, but the root vocalism is incompatible, so trust has come to be considered a reflex of a… The correct English form is trust, spelled T-R-U-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
  2. 2
    Dependence upon something in the future; hope.
  3. 3
    Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.
  4. 4
    That which is committed or entrusted; something received in confidence; a charge.
  5. 5
    That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope.
  6. 6
    Trustworthiness, reliability.
  7. 7
    The condition or obligation of one to whom anything is confided; responsible charge or office.
  8. 8
    The confidence vested in a person who has legal ownership of a property to manage for the benefit of another.
  9. 9
    An arrangement whereby property or money is given to be held by a third party (a trustee), on the basis that it will be managed for the benefit of, or eventually transferred to, a stated beneficiary; for example, money to be given to a child when he or she reaches adulthood.
  10. 10
    A group of businessmen or traders organised for mutual benefit to produce and distribute specific commodities or services, and managed by a central body of trustees.
  11. 11
    Affirmation of the access rights of a user of a computer system.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He needs to regain her trust if he is ever going to win her back.
  2. to lose trust in someone

Etymology

From Middle English trust, trost (“trust, protection”). Long considered a borrowing from Old Norse traust (“confidence, help, protection”), from Proto-Germanic *traustą, but the root vocalism is incompatible, so trust has come to be considered a reflex of an unattested Old English *trust, from a rare zero-grade Proto-Germanic variant of the same root also attested in Middle High German getrüste (“host”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“be firm, hard, solid”). Akin to Danish trøst (“comfort, solace”), Saterland Frisian Traast (“comfort, solace”), West Frisian treast (“comfort, solace”), Dutch troost (“comfort, consolation”), German Trost (“comfort, consolation”), Gothic trausti (“alliance, pact”). Doublet of tryst. More at true, tree.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtust
  • trrust
  • trsut
  • trusst
  • trustt
  • truts
  • ttrust
  • turst

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtust2trrust1trsut2trusst1trustt1truts2ttrust1turst2
Edit distance from "trust"

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 "trust"?
"trust" is spelled T-R-U-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹʌst/.
What does "trust" mean?
As a noun, "trust" means: Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
What words are commonly confused with "trust"?
"trust" is commonly confused with "tut", "tusk", "tuft". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "trust"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "trust" is /tɹʌst/. 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 "trust"?
From Middle English trust, trost (“trust, protection”). Long considered a borrowing from Old Norse traust (“confidence, help, protection”), from Proto-Germanic *traustą, but the root vocalism is incompatible, so trust has come to be considered a r... 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 "trust", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

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

  • "trust" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "tut". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #780 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