watertight
/ˈwɔː.tə.taɪt/
"watertight" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“watertight” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #37,765 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #37,765
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - So tightly made that water cannot enter or escape.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | watertight |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈwɔː.tə.taɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #37,765 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “watertight” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for watertight is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɔː.tə.taɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #37,765 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 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for watertight, with forms such as "awtertight", "waetrtight", and "wateritght". 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. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From water + tight. Compare Scots wattirticht (“watertight”), West Frisian wetterticht (“waterproof”), Dutch waterdicht (“waterproof, watertight”), German wasserdicht (“watertight, waterproof”), Danish vandtæt (“watertight”), Swedish vattentät (“watertight,… The correct English form is watertight, spelled W-A-T-E-R-T-I-G-H-T.
Definition
- 1So tightly made that water cannot enter or escape.
- 2So devised or planned as to be impossible to defeat, evade or nullify.
Etymology
From water + tight. Compare Scots wattirticht (“watertight”), West Frisian wetterticht (“waterproof”), Dutch waterdicht (“waterproof, watertight”), German wasserdicht (“watertight, waterproof”), Danish vandtæt (“watertight”), Swedish vattentät (“watertight, waterproof”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: awtertight,waetrtight,wateritght,waterrtight,watertgiht,watertigght,watertighht,watertightt,watertigth,watertihgt,waterttight,watetright,watretight,wattertight,wtaertight,wwatertight
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of watertight - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "watertight"?
What does "watertight" mean?
What are common misspellings of "watertight"?
How do you pronounce "watertight"?
What is the origin of the word "watertight"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “watertight”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-A-T-E-R-T-I-G-H-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɔː.tə.taɪt/ (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.