undertaking

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

/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkɪŋ/

//ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkɪŋ// noun

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

The verdict

“undertaking” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,957. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,957
frequency rank, English: 1,433
“U” headwords: 17
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The business of an undertaker, or the management of funerals.

Corpus desk

Index EN-undertaking · undertaking · English

undertaking · rank #10,957 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

FREQ-MID #10,957
LEN-MEGA 11 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
VAR-HIGH 17 variants
BOOK-MID 1,433
PHOTO-FINISH unarmed

Nearest frequency peer: unarmed (-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.

turtles

89,047
UC

89,046
unarmed

89,045
undertaking

89,044
unfinished

89,043
unhealthy

89,042

What this shows Bars show where “undertaking” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

undertaking vs undertaken

82% similar

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

Key facts for undertaking
Property	Value
Headword	undertaking
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkɪŋ/
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#10,957
Misspellings tracked	17
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “undertaking” 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). undertaking lands here:

#10,957

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

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around undertaking (IPA /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,957 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for undertaking, with forms such as "nudertaking", "udnertaking", and "unddertaking". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "undertaken", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: By surface analysis, undertake + -ing. The correct English form is undertaking, spelled U-N-D-E-R-T-A-K-I-N-G.

Definition

1
The business of an undertaker, or the management of funerals.
2
A promise or pledge; a guarantee.
3
That which is undertaken; any business, work, or project which a person engages in, or attempts to perform; an enterprise.
4
The act of one who undertakes (in either sense).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

The Hong Kong SAR Government has given undertakings that such powers [powers to prevent people from leaving Hong Kong] will not be used and that the ability to remove people from flights will be applied only to stop certain asylum seekers from entering Hong Kong.
He laid the foundation stone on August 1 1847, and then set around 2,000 workmen loose on the undertaking. The station opened exactly one year later on August 1 1848.

Etymology

By surface analysis, undertake + -ing.

This word in other languages

funeraria(Español)entreprise(Français)Unternehmen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

nudertaking
udnertaking
unddertaking
underatking
underrtaking
undertaikng
undertakign
undertakingg
undertakinng
undertakking
undertaknig
undertkaing
underttaking
undetraking
undretaking
unedrtaking
unndertaking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of undertaking - 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 "undertaking"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "undertaking"?

"undertaking" is spelled U-N-D-E-R-T-A-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkɪŋ/.

What does "undertaking" mean?

As a noun, "undertaking" means: The business of an undertaker, or the management of funerals.

What words are commonly confused with "undertaking"?

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

How do you pronounce "undertaking"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "undertaking" is /ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkɪŋ/. 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 "undertaking"?

By surface analysis, undertake + -ing. 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 "undertaking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

voluntarily#10,969 sponsorship#10,936 realization#10,920 radioactive#10,916

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

philosopher17 variants persecution17 variants inflammatory17 variants instability17 variants

What to do next

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

This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "undertaken". View pair
17 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
Usage frequency rank #10,957 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
Browse more English words in the "U" letter cohort. U–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.