underpaid

adj

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

"underpaid" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“underpaid” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,134. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,134
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Getting too little financial compensation for one's work.

Corpus desk

Index EN-underpaid · underpaid · English

underpaid · rank #35,134 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,134
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH undergrad

Nearest frequency peer: undergrad (-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 “underpaid”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “underpaid” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

underpaid vs underpin
78% similar
underpaid vs underpass
78% similar

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

Key facts for underpaid
PropertyValue
Headwordunderpaid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters9
Frequency rank#35,134
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “underpaid”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “undergrad” (#35,133), “uninvited” (#35,135), “undemocratic” (#35,132). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “underpaid” is #35,134. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around underpaid, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #35,134 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Getting too little financial compensation for one's work.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for underpaid, with forms such as "nuderpaid", "udnerpaid", and "undderpaid". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "underpin", "underpass", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From under- + paid. The correct English form is underpaid, spelled U-N-D-E-R-P-A-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Getting too little financial compensation for one's work.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I am underpaid and overworked.
  2. The accusation that he lives like the “rat” he is, cutting down wages by his underpaid labor, he throws back in the teeth of the trades unions with the counter-charge that they are the first cause of his attitude to the labor question.

Etymology

From under- + paid.

Antonyms

overpaid

This word in other languages

sous-payé(Français)schlechtbezahlt(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nuderpaid
  • udnerpaid
  • undderpaid
  • undepraid
  • underapid
  • underpadi
  • underpaidd
  • underpiad
  • underppaid
  • underrpaid
  • undrepaid
  • unedrpaid
  • unnderpaid

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of underpaid - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

nuderpaid2udnerpaid2undderpaid1undepraid2underapid2underpadi2underpaidd1underpiad2
Edit distance from "underpaid"

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 "underpaid"?
"underpaid" is spelled U-N-D-E-R-P-A-I-D.
What does "underpaid" mean?
As an adjective, "underpaid" means: Getting too little financial compensation for one's work.
What words are commonly confused with "underpaid"?
"underpaid" is commonly confused with "underpin", "underpass". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "underpaid"?
From under- + paid. 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 "underpaid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

undergrad#35,133uninvited#35,135unnerving#35,137treatable#35,121

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

stateside13 variantsantebellum13 variantsapathetic13 variantsrustling13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list