tun

/tʌn/

//tʌn// noun

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

"tun" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tun” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #30,265) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#30,265
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask. (See a diagram comparing cask sizes.)

Corpus desk

Index EN-tun · tun · English

tun · rank #30,265 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,265
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH trombone

Nearest frequency peer: trombone (-2 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 “tun”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tun” 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).

tun vs TV
0% similar
tun vs TX
0% similar
tun vs Ty
0% similar

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

Key facts for tun
PropertyValue
Headwordtun
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tʌn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#30,265
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tun” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “trombone” (#30,263), “tyrannical” (#30,267), “totalled” (#30,262). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for tun is neighbouring look-alikes ("TV", "TX", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /tʌn/. Frequency #30,265 among 3,151 “T” headwords. 10 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

tun has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TV", "TX", "Ty", 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 tunne, tonne (“cask, barrel”), from Old English tunne (“tun, cask, barrel”), from Proto-Germanic *tunnǭ, *tunnō (“tun, barrel, cask”), from Latin tunna, probably of Gaulish origin. Cognate with North Frisian tenn (“tun, barrel, cask”), D… The correct English form is tun, spelled T-U-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask. (See a diagram comparing cask sizes.)
  2. 2
    A fermenting vat.
  3. 3
    A traditional unit of liquid measure (from the volume of such a cask) equal to 252 wine gallons or 2 pipes.
  4. 4
    Synonym of long ton: a unit of mass equal to 2240 pounds, 20 hundredweights of 112 pounds avoirdupois each.
  5. 5
    Synonym of ton: any extremely or excessively large amount.
  6. 6
    Synonym of drunkard: a person who drinks excessively.
  7. 7
    Any shell belonging to Tonna and allied genera.
  8. 8
    The cryptobiotic state of a tardigrade, when its metabolism is temporarily suspended.
  9. 9
    A small silver cup holding half a pint, sometimes having a whistle in the handle that could not be blown until the cup was empty.
  10. 10
    a chimney.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Again, by 28 Hen. VIII, cap. 14, it is re-enacted that the tun of wine should contain 252 gallons, a butt of Malmsey 126 gallons, a pipe 126 gallons, a tercian or puncheon 84 gallons, a hogshead 63 gallons, a tierce 41 gallons, a barrel 31.5 gallons, a rundlet 18.5 gallons.
  2. He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit, / This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this, / Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim / Hear no more of you.

Etymology

From Middle English tunne, tonne (“cask, barrel”), from Old English tunne (“tun, cask, barrel”), from Proto-Germanic *tunnǭ, *tunnō (“tun, barrel, cask”), from Latin tunna, probably of Gaulish origin. Cognate with North Frisian tenn (“tun, barrel, cask”), Dutch ton (“tun, barrel, cask”), German Tonne (“tun, barrel, drum”), Danish tønde (“barrel”), Swedish tunna (“barrel, cask, tun”), Icelandic tunna (“barrel”). Compare also Old French tonne, French tonneau (“ton, barrel”), Medieval Latin tunna (“cask”), Middle Irish tunna (“cask”), Welsh tynell (“tun, barrel”). It is uncertain whether the Germanic or the Celtic forms are the original.

This word in other languages

tonel(Español)tonel(Português)

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 "tun"?
"tun" is spelled T-U-N. The IPA pronunciation is /tʌn/.
What does "tun" mean?
As a noun, "tun" means: A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask. (See a diagram comparing cask sizes.)
What words are commonly confused with "tun"?
"tun" is commonly confused with "TV", "TX", "Ty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tun"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tun" is /tʌn/. 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 "tun"?
From Middle English tunne, tonne (“cask, barrel”), from Old English tunne (“tun, cask, barrel”), from Proto-Germanic *tunnǭ, *tunnō (“tun, barrel, cask”), from Latin tunna, probably of Gaulish origin. Cognate with North Frisian tenn (“tun, barrel,... 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 "tun", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

suh#30,248SSI#30,241Ath#30,322Ayn#30,328

What to do next

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

  • "tun" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "TV". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #30,265 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