waddle
/ˈwɒd.əl/
"waddle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“waddle” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #48,556 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #48,556
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A squat, swaying gait.
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 | waddle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɒd.əl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #48,556 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “waddle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for waddle is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɒd.əl/. Corpus data places it at rank #48,556 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for waddle, with forms such as "awddle", "waddlle", and "wadlde". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "wade", "wale", "waffle", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wadelen, frequentative form of waden, equivalent to wade + -le. Compare Saterland Frisian wuttelje (“to waddle”), Old High German wadalōn (“to roam; wander”), Middle High German wadelen, wedelen (“to wander; rove”), German wedeln (“to wa… The correct English form is waddle, spelled W-A-D-D-L-E.
Definition
- 1A squat, swaying gait.
- 2A group of birds, such as ducks and penguins, when walking.
Etymology
From Middle English wadelen, frequentative form of waden, equivalent to wade + -le. Compare Saterland Frisian wuttelje (“to waddle”), Old High German wadalōn (“to roam; wander”), Middle High German wadelen, wedelen (“to wander; rove”), German wedeln (“to waggle”). First known use in English in a version of the Song of Roland around the year 1400. (Source:OED online)
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: awddle,waddlle,wadlde,wadle,wdadle,wwaddle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of waddle - 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.
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 “waddle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-A-D-D-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɒd.əl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “wade” - see the side-by-side comparison. waddle vs wade
- 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.