unto

/ˈʌntʊ/

//ˈʌntʊ// conj

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

"unto" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“unto” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,633. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,633
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Up to the time or degree that; until.

Corpus desk

Index EN-unto · unto · English

unto · rank #7,633 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,633
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH underwear

Nearest frequency peer: underwear (-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 “unto”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “unto” 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).

unto vs UT
0% similar
unto vs UO
0% similar
unto vs UTC
0% similar

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

Key facts for unto
PropertyValue
Headwordunto
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechConjunction
IPA/ˈʌntʊ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#7,633
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “unto”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).untolands 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 “underwear” (#7,632), “viable” (#7,634), “waist” (#7,635). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “unto” is #7,633. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around unto (IPA /ˈʌntʊ/), aconjunction. Corpus frequency is #7,633 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Up to the time or degree that; until.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for unto, with forms such as "nuto", "unnto", and "unot". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "UT", "UO", "UTC", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English unto, from Old English *untō, *und tō, equivalent to un- (“against; toward; up to”) + to. Cognate with Old Frisian ont to ("until"; > Saterland Frisian antou (“until”)) (cf. Old Frisian und (“up to; till”), Old Frisian til (“ti… The correct English form is unto, spelled U-N-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Up to the time or degree that; until.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Unto This Last (John Ruskin)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English unto, from Old English *untō, *und tō, equivalent to un- (“against; toward; up to”) + to. Cognate with Old Frisian ont to ("until"; > Saterland Frisian antou (“until”)) (cf. Old Frisian und (“up to; till”), Old Frisian til (“till; to”)), Old Saxon untō, untuo (“until”), Old High German unze, unzi, unza (“until”), Old Norse und (“as far as; up to”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌴 (untē, “until; as long as”).

Synonyms

tilluntil

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nuto
  • unnto
  • unot
  • untto
  • utno

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of unto - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

nuto2unnto1unot2untto1utno2
Edit distance from "unto"

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 "unto"?
"unto" is spelled U-N-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌntʊ/.
What does "unto" mean?
As a conjunction, "unto" means: Up to the time or degree that; until.
What words are commonly confused with "unto"?
"unto" is commonly confused with "UT", "UO", "UTC". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "unto"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "unto" is /ˈʌntʊ/. 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 "unto"?
Inherited from Middle English unto, from Old English *untō, *und tō, equivalent to un- (“against; toward; up to”) + to. Cognate with Old Frisian ont to ("until"; > Saterland Frisian antou (“until”)) (cf. Old Frisian und (“up to; till”), Old Frisia... 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 "unto", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trek#7,628toes#7,625amid#7,645stir#7,614

Similar misspelling depth

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

Sara5 variantsoath5 variantsEllis5 variantsgoin5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list