wean

/wiːn/

//wiːn// verb

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

"wean" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wean” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #40,968 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#40,968
frequency rank, English
4
letters
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cease giving breast milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

wean vs win
50% similar
wean vs won
50% similar
wean vs web
50% similar

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

Key facts for wean
PropertyValue
Headwordwean
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/wiːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#40,968
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wean” 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). wean 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 wean is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /wiːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #40,968 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for wean, with forms such as "weann", "wena", and "wwean". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "win", "won", "web", 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 wenen, from Old English wenian (“to accustom; habituate; train; prepare; make fit”), from Proto-West Germanic *wannjan, from Proto-Germanic *wanjaną (“to make wont; accustom”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive for; wish; love… The correct English form is wean, spelled W-E-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cease giving breast milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder.
  2. 2
    To cease giving breast milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder.
  3. 3
    To cease to depend on the mother's milk for nutrition.
  4. 4
    To cause to quit something to which one is addicted, dependent, or habituated.
  5. 5
    To cease to depend.
  6. 6
    To raise, to help grow toward maturity

Etymology

From Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian (“to accustom; habituate; train; prepare; make fit”), from Proto-West Germanic *wannjan, from Proto-Germanic *wanjaną (“to make wont; accustom”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive for; wish; love”). Cognate with Dutch wennen, German gewöhnen, Danish vænne, Swedish vänja, Icelandic venja. Related via PIE to wone, wont, and wonder, and perhaps win.

This word in other languages

destetar(Español)sevrer(Français)abstillen(Deutsch)desmamar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: weann,wena,wwean

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wean - 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.

weann1wena2wwean1
Edit distance from "wean"

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 "wean"?
"wean" is spelled W-E-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /wiːn/.
What does "wean" mean?
As a verb, "wean" means: To cease giving breast milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder.
What words are commonly confused with "wean"?
"wean" is commonly confused with "win", "won", "web". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wean"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wean" is /wiːn/. 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 "wean"?
From Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian (“to accustom; habituate; train; prepare; make fit”), from Proto-West Germanic *wannjan, from Proto-Germanic *wanjaną (“to make wont; accustom”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive for; ... 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 “wean”

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

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