upheld

/ʌpˈhɛld/

//ʌpˈhɛld// verb

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

"upheld" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“upheld” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,263. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,263
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of uphold

Corpus desk

Index EN-upheld · upheld · English

upheld · rank #13,263 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,263
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH unreal

Nearest frequency peer: unreal (-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 “upheld”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “upheld” 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).

upheld vs upped
67% similar
upheld vs uphold
83% similar
upheld vs uphill
67% similar

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

Key facts for upheld
PropertyValue
Headwordupheld
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ʌpˈhɛld/
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,263
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “upheld”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).upheldlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “unreal” (#13,262), “vaccination” (#13,264), “typhoon” (#13,261). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “upheld” is #13,263. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around upheld (IPA /ʌpˈhɛld/), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,263 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of uphold".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for upheld, with forms such as "puheld", "uhpeld", and "upehld". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "upped", "uphold", "uphill", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is upheld, spelled U-P-H-E-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of uphold

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • puheld
  • uhpeld
  • upehld
  • uphedl
  • upheldd
  • uphelld
  • uphheld
  • uphled
  • uppheld

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

puheld2uhpeld2upehld2uphedl2upheldd1uphelld1uphheld1uphled2
Edit distance from "upheld"

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 "upheld"?
"upheld" is spelled U-P-H-E-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌpˈhɛld/.
What does "upheld" mean?
As a verb, "upheld" means: simple past and past participle of uphold
What words are commonly confused with "upheld"?
"upheld" is commonly confused with "upped", "uphold", "uphill". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "upheld"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "upheld" is /ʌpˈhɛld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "upheld" come from?
"upheld" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "upheld", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unreal#13,262wicket#13,272Zurich#13,275sucker#13,248

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Valerie9 variantsTiffany9 variantssponge9 variantsawaited9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list