wast
/wɒst/
"wast" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wast” is an uncommon English word, ranked #55,190 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #55,190
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - second-person singular simple past indicative of be; wert.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /wɒst/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #55,190 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wast” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for wast is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /wɒst/. Corpus data places it at rank #55,190 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "second-person singular simple past indicative of be; wert.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for wast, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English wast; equivalent to was + -est. The correct English form is wast, spelled W-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1second-person singular simple past indicative of be; wert.
Etymology
From Late Middle English wast; equivalent to was + -est.
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 "wast"?
What does "wast" mean?
How do you pronounce "wast"?
What is the origin of the word "wast"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “wast”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /wɒst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.