underdog

Name: underdog, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ/

//ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“underdog” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,982. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,982
frequency rank, English: 1,433
“U” headwords: 12
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A competitor thought unlikely to win.

Corpus desk

Index EN-underdog · underdog · English

underdog · rank #18,982 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

FREQ-MID #18,982
LEN-LONG 8 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
VAR-MID 12 variants
BOOK-MID 1,433
PHOTO-FINISH uncanny

Nearest frequency peer: uncanny (-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.

unbiased

81,022
unc

81,021
uncanny

81,020
underdog

81,019
unfolding

81,018
ungrateful

81,017

What this shows “underdog” 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).

underdog vs undergo

75% similar

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

Key facts for underdog
Property	Value
Headword	underdog
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#18,982
Misspellings tracked	12
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “underdog”

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).underdoglands here:

#18,982

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “uncanny” (#18,981), “unfolding” (#18,983), “unc” (#18,980). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “underdog” is #18,982. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around underdog (IPA /ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,982 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for underdog, with forms such as "nuderdog", "udnerdog", and "undderdog". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "undergo", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From under- + dog. The correct English form is underdog, spelled U-N-D-E-R-D-O-G.

Definition

1
A competitor thought unlikely to win.
2
Somebody at a disadvantage.
3
A high swing wherein the person pushing the swing runs beneath the swing while the person being pushed is at the forward limit of the arc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

They were the underdogs in the basketball competition.
In Athens, the Americans are underdogs to the Chinese and the Canadians (the Canadians!)

Etymology

From under- + dog.

Antonyms

favourite favoritesure betsafe bettop dogshoo-in

This word in other languages

tapado(Español)outsider(Français)Außenseiter(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

nuderdog
udnerdog
undderdog
undedrog
underddog
underdgo
underdogg
underodg
underrdog
undredog
unedrdog
unnderdog

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of underdog - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "underdog"

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 "underdog"?

"underdog" is spelled U-N-D-E-R-D-O-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ/.

What does "underdog" mean?

As a noun, "underdog" means: A competitor thought unlikely to win.

What words are commonly confused with "underdog"?

"underdog" is commonly confused with "undergo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "underdog"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "underdog" is /ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ/. 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 "underdog"?

From under- + dog. 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 "underdog", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

unbiased#18,979 thematic#18,971 werewolf#18,995 wrongful#18,997

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

turquoise12 variants scraping12 variants Belgrade12 variants blindly12 variants