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veto

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "veto", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "veto" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "veto" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

veto is aEnglishnoun. It means: A political right to disapprove of (and thereby stop) the process of a decision, a law etc. Pronounced /ˈviːtəʊ/. Often confused with vo and vex.

Key facts for veto
PropertyValue
Headwordveto
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈviːtəʊ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#12,165
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of veto in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for veto is 4 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈviːtəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,165 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 5 documented wrong-spelling variants for veto, with forms such as "evto", "veot", and "vetto". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "vo", "vex", "Vit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin vetō (“I forbid”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is veto, spelled V-E-T-O, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A political right to disapprove of (and thereby stop) the process of a decision, a law etc.
  2. 2
    An invocation of that right.
  3. 3
    An authoritative prohibition or negative; a forbidding; an interdiction.
  4. 4
    A technique or mechanism for discarding what would otherwise constitute a false positive in a scientific experiment.

Etymology

From Latin vetō (“I forbid”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: evto,veot,vetto,vteo,vveto

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for veto

Misspelling Variants of "veto"

evto4veot4vetto5vteo4vveto5
Misspelling Variants of "veto"

Frequency rank: #12,165 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "veto"?
"veto" is spelled V-E-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈviːtəʊ/.
What does "veto" mean?
As a noun, "veto" means: A political right to disapprove of (and thereby stop) the process of a decision, a law etc.
What words are commonly confused with "veto"?
"veto" is commonly confused with "vo", "vex", "Vit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "veto"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "veto" is /ˈviːtəʊ/. 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 "veto"?
From Latin vetō (“I forbid”). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter V in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.