ward
/wɔːd/
"ward" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ward” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,854. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #3,854
- frequency rank, English
- 12,113
- “W” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ward · ward · English
ward · rank #3,854 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #3,854
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 12,113
- PHOTO-FINISH tongue
Nearest frequency peer: tongue (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “ward”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- survival
survival
96,150 corpus weight
- sword
sword
96,149 corpus weight
- tongue
tongue
96,148 corpus weight
- ward
ward
96,147 corpus weight
- waves
waves
96,146 corpus weight
- Wayne
Wayne
96,145 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “ward” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | ward |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /wɔːd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #3,854 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ward” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around ward (IPA /wɔːd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,854 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for ward, with forms such as "awrd", "wadr", and "wardd". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "WD", "was", "way", 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 warde, from Old English weard (“keeper, watchman, guard, guardian, protector; lord, king; possessor”), from Proto-Germanic *warduz (“guard, keeper”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to heed, defend”). Cognate with Dutch waard, German Wart. The correct English form is ward, spelled W-A-R-D.
Definition
- 1A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ward appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
th'aſſieged Caſtles ward Their ſtedfaſt ſtonds did mightily maintaine
no gate they found, them to withhold, Nor ward to wait at morne and euening late […].
Etymology
From Middle English warde, from Old English weard (“keeper, watchman, guard, guardian, protector; lord, king; possessor”), from Proto-Germanic *warduz (“guard, keeper”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to heed, defend”). Cognate with Dutch waard, German Wart.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- awrd
- wadr
- wardd
- warrd
- wrad
- wward
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ward - 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.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "ward"?
What does "ward" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ward", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).
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.