undertow

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

verb

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“undertow” is uncommon English (frequency #57,799 among 23,789 “U” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,799
frequency rank, English: 23,789
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To pull or tow under; drag beneath; pull down.

Key facts for undertow
Property	Value
Headword	undertow
Language	English
Part of speech	Verb
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#57,799
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “undertow” 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). undertow lands here:

#57,799

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

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

Rare enough to double-check

undertow is uncommon English at frequency #57,799 among 23,789 “U” headwords, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for undertow, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From under- + tow. The correct English form is undertow, spelled U-N-D-E-R-T-O-W.

Definition

1
To pull or tow under; drag beneath; pull down.
2
To pull down by, or as by, an undertow.
3
To flow or behave as an undertow.

Etymology

From under- + tow.

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 "undertow"?

"undertow" is spelled U-N-D-E-R-T-O-W.

What does "undertow" mean?

As a verb, "undertow" means: To pull or tow under; drag beneath; pull down.

What is the origin of the word "undertow"?

From under- + tow. 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.

Using “undertow”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is U-N-D-E-R-T-O-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.