wax

/wæks/

//wæks// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"wax" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wax” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,105 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,105
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Beeswax.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wax vs we
33% similar
wax vs wi
33% similar
wax vs Wu
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for wax
PropertyValue
Headwordwax
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wæks/
Letters3
Frequency rank#8,105
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wax” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). wax lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for wax is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /wæks/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,105 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for wax in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "we", "wi", "Wu", 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 wax, from Old English weax, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *woḱ-so-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Woaks (“wax”), West Frisian waaks (“wax”), Dutch was (“wax”), German Wachs (“wax”), German Low German Wass… The correct English form is wax, spelled W-A-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    Beeswax.
  2. 2
    Earwax.
  3. 3
    Any oily, water-resistant, solid or semisolid substance; normally long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols or esters.
  4. 4
    Any preparation containing wax, used as a polish.
  5. 5
    The phonograph record format for music.
  6. 6
    A thick syrup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple and then cooling it.
  7. 7
    Any of a class of drugs with weed oil and butane as main ingredients; hash oil.

Etymology

From Middle English wax, from Old English weax, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *woḱ-so-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Woaks (“wax”), West Frisian waaks (“wax”), Dutch was (“wax”), German Wachs (“wax”), German Low German Wass (“wax”), Luxembourgish Wuess (“wax”), Vilamovian wāhs (“wax”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk voks (“wax”), Faroese vaks (“wax”), Icelandic, Swedish vax (“wax”); and with Lithuanian vaškas (“wax”), Proto-Slavic *voskъ (“wax”).

This word in other languages

cera(Español)cire(Français)Wachs(Deutsch)cera(Português)

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 "wax"?
"wax" is spelled W-A-X. The IPA pronunciation is /wæks/.
What does "wax" mean?
As a noun, "wax" means: Beeswax.
What words are commonly confused with "wax"?
"wax" is commonly confused with "we", "wi", "Wu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wax"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wax" is /wæks/. 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 "wax"?
From Middle English wax, from Old English weax, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *woḱ-so-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Woaks (“wax”), West Frisian waaks (“wax”), Dutch was (“wax”), German Wachs (“wax”), German Low G... 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.

Using “wax”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-A-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /wæks/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “we” - see the side-by-side comparison. wax vs we
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list