unearth
/ʌnˈɜː(ɹ)θ/
"unearth" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unearth” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #42,471 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #42,471
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To drive or draw from the earth.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unearth |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ʌnˈɜː(ɹ)θ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #42,471 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “unearth” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for unearth is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʌnˈɜː(ɹ)θ/. Corpus data places it at rank #42,471 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for unearth, with forms such as "nuearth", "uenarth", and "unaerth". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "unearthed", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unherthen, equivalent to un- + earth. The correct English form is unearth, spelled U-N-E-A-R-T-H.
Definition
- 1To drive or draw from the earth.
- 2To dig up.
- 3To uncover or find; to bring out from concealment.
Etymology
From Middle English unherthen, equivalent to un- + earth.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nuearth,uenarth,unaerth,unearht,unearrth,unearthh,uneartth,uneatrh,unerath,unnearth
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of unearth - 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.
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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Using “unearth”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-N-E-A-R-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ʌnˈɜː(ɹ)θ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “unearthed” - see the side-by-side comparison. unearth vs unearthed
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.