underling
/ˈʌndɚlɪŋ/
"underling" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“underling” is uncommon English (frequency #71,998 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #71,998
- frequency rank, English
- 1,433
- “U” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A subordinate, or person of lesser rank or authority.
Corpus desk
Index EN-underling · underling · English
underling · rank #71,998 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #71,998
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,433
- PHOTO-FINISH uncheck
Nearest frequency peer: uncheck (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “underling”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- truncate
truncate
28,010 corpus weight
- ues
ues
28,006 corpus weight
- ultramarine
ultramarine
28,005 corpus weight
- uncheck
uncheck
28,004 corpus weight
- underling
underling
28,003 corpus weight
- unimproved
unimproved
28,001 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “underling” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | underling |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʌndɚlɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #71,998 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “underling” in English
Rare enough to double-check
underling is uncommon English at frequency #71,998 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʌndɚlɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for underling, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English underling, from Old English underling. By surface analysis, under + -ling. The correct English form is underling, spelled U-N-D-E-R-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1A subordinate, or person of lesser rank or authority.
- 2A low, wretched person.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how underling appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
"I love not that underlings should perceive my wisdom."
Etymology
From Middle English underling, from Old English underling. By surface analysis, under + -ling.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
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 "underling", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).