underwear

/ˈʌndəwɛə/

//ˈʌndəwɛə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“underwear” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,632. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,632
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Clothes worn next to the skin, underneath outer clothing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-underwear · underwear · English

underwear · rank #7,632 · 13 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,632
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH unto

Nearest frequency peer: unto (+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 “underwear”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “underwear” 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).

underwear vs underwent
78% similar
underwear vs underway
78% similar
underwear vs undersea
78% similar

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

Key facts for underwear
PropertyValue
Headwordunderwear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʌndəwɛə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#7,632
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “underwear”

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).underwearlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “unto” (#7,633), “triumph” (#7,630), “viable” (#7,634). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “underwear” is #7,632. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around underwear (IPA /ˈʌndəwɛə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,632 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for underwear, with forms such as "nuderwear", "udnerwear", and "undderwear". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "underwent", "underway", "undersea", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From under- + -wear. Compare Dutch ondergoed, German Unterwäsche, Swedish underkläder. The correct English form is underwear, spelled U-N-D-E-R-W-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Clothes worn next to the skin, underneath outer clothing.
  2. 2
    Underpants (boxers, briefs, panties, etc) and often bras.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Don't scratch and bite, my little bear, you'll soon need bigger underwear.
  2. As a couple of soldiers sing a dirty song, he loses sight of the edge of the stage and falls off in the middle of his dance like a seasoned slapstick artist, his white legs in the air and his filthy underwear visible to all.

Etymology

From under- + -wear. Compare Dutch ondergoed, German Unterwäsche, Swedish underkläder.

Synonyms

shreddiesunderclothesundergarmentundieslingerieskivviessmallssmallclothesunderclothingunderwearunderthingsunmentionables

This word in other languages

calzones(Español)sous-vêtement(Français)Unterwäsche(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nuderwear
  • udnerwear
  • undderwear
  • underewar
  • underrwear
  • underwaer
  • underwearr
  • underwera
  • underwwear
  • undewrear
  • undrewear
  • unedrwear
  • unnderwear

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of underwear - 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.

nuderwear2udnerwear2undderwear1underewar2underrwear1underwaer2underwearr1underwera2
Edit distance from "underwear"

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 "underwear"?
"underwear" is spelled U-N-D-E-R-W-E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌndəwɛə/.
What does "underwear" mean?
As a noun, "underwear" means: Clothes worn next to the skin, underneath outer clothing.
What words are commonly confused with "underwear"?
"underwear" is commonly confused with "underwent", "underway", "undersea". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "underwear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "underwear" is /ˈʌndəwɛə/. 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 "underwear"?
From under- + -wear. Compare Dutch ondergoed, German Unterwäsche, Swedish underkläder. 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 "underwear", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

touchdown#7,626advocates#7,642ambitious#7,644appealing#7,647

Similar misspelling depth

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

tendency13 variantsinfantry13 variantsfraction13 variantsFlorence13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list