vagrant

/ˈveɪɡɹənt/

//ˈveɪɡɹənt// noun

"vagrant" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vagrant” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,151. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,151
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who wanders from place to place; a nomad, a wanderer.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vagrant · vagrant · English

vagrant · rank #39,151 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #39,151
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH unstructured

Nearest frequency peer: unstructured (-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 “vagrant”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “vagrant” 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).

vagrant vs variant
71% similar
vagrant vs vibrant
71% similar
vagrant vs valiant
71% similar

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

Key facts for vagrant
PropertyValue
Headwordvagrant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈveɪɡɹənt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#39,151
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “vagrant”

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).vagrantlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “unstructured” (#39,150), “Veracruz” (#39,152), “unscheduled” (#39,149). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vagrant” is #39,151. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around vagrant (IPA /ˈveɪɡɹənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #39,151 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for vagrant, with forms such as "avgrant", "vagarnt", and "vaggrant". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "variant", "vibrant", "valiant", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English vagraunt (“person without proper employment; person without a fixed abode, tramp, vagabond”) [and other forms], probably from Anglo-Norman vagarant, wakerant, waucrant (“vagrant”) [and other forms] and Old French walcrant, waucrant … The correct English form is vagrant, spelled V-A-G-R-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who wanders from place to place; a nomad, a wanderer.
  2. 2
    A person without settled employment or habitation who usually supports himself or herself by begging or some dishonest means; a tramp, a vagabond.
  3. 3
    Vagrans egista, a widely distributed Asian butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
  4. 4
    An animal, typically a bird, found outside its species' usual range.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Every morning before work, I see that poor vagrant around the neighbourhood begging for food.
  2. If it appear to the Juſtice by the confeſſion of the Vagrant, or by the Oath of one Witneſs, that he had no lawful Settlement ſince his Birth, and that he hath committed Acts of Vagrancy, or hath been a common Beggar, or Vagrant, for two Years laſt paſt, [...] then inſtead of puniſhing him, the Juſtice, or Juſtices, may bind him Apprentice for ſeven Years…

Etymology

From Late Middle English vagraunt (“person without proper employment; person without a fixed abode, tramp, vagabond”) [and other forms], probably from Anglo-Norman vagarant, wakerant, waucrant (“vagrant”) [and other forms] and Old French walcrant, waucrant (“roaming, wandering”) [and other forms], perhaps influenced by Latin vagārī, the present active infinitive of vagor (“to ramble, stroll about; to roam, rove, wander”). Old French walcrant is the present participle of vagrer, wacrer, walcrer (“to wander, wander about as a vagabond”) [and other forms], from Frankish *walkrōn (“to wander about”), the frequentative form of *walkōn (“to walk; to wander; to stomp, trample; to full (make cloth denser and firmer by soaking, beating and pressing)”), from Proto-Germanic *walkōną (“to roll about, wallow; to full”), *walkaną (“to turn, wind; to toss; to roll, roll about; to wend; to walk; to wander; to trample; to full”), from Proto-Indo-European *walg-, *walk-, *welgʰ-, *welk-, *wolg- (“to turn, twist; to move”), ultimately from *welH- (“to turn; to wind”). The English word is cognate with Latin valgus (“bandy-legged, bow-legged”), Middle Dutch walken (“to knead; to full”), Old English wealcan (“to roll”), ġewealcan (“to go; to walk about”), Old High German walchan, walkan (“to move up and down; to press together; to full; to walk; to wander”), Old Norse valka (“to wander”). See further at walk.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • avgrant
  • vagarnt
  • vaggrant
  • vagrannt
  • vagrantt
  • vagratn
  • vagrnat
  • vagrrant
  • vargant
  • vgarant
  • vvagrant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vagrant - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

avgrant2vagarnt2vaggrant1vagrannt1vagrantt1vagratn2vagrnat2vagrrant1
Edit distance from "vagrant"

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 "vagrant"?
"vagrant" is spelled V-A-G-R-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈveɪɡɹənt/.
What does "vagrant" mean?
As a noun, "vagrant" means: A person who wanders from place to place; a nomad, a wanderer.
What words are commonly confused with "vagrant"?
"vagrant" is commonly confused with "variant", "vibrant", "valiant". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vagrant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vagrant" is /ˈveɪɡɹənt/. 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 "vagrant"?
From Late Middle English vagraunt (“person without proper employment; person without a fixed abode, tramp, vagabond”) [and other forms], probably from Anglo-Norman vagarant, wakerant, waucrant (“vagrant”) [and other forms] and Old French walcrant,... 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 "vagrant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list