weather

/ˈwɛð.ə/

//ˈwɛð.ə// noun

"weather" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“weather” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,443. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,443
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - The short-term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-weather · weather · English

weather · rank #1,443 · 10 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,443
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH truly

Nearest frequency peer: truly (-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 “weather”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “weather” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

weather vs weaver
71% similar
weather vs wither
71% similar
weather vs wetter
71% similar

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

Key facts for weather
PropertyValue
Headwordweather
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwɛð.ə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,443
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “weather” 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). weather lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around weather (IPA /ˈwɛð.ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,443 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for weather, with forms such as "ewather", "waether", and "weahter". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "weaver", "wither", "wetter", 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 weder, wedir, from Old English weder, from Proto-West Germanic *wedr, from Proto-Germanic *wedrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰrom (=*we-dʰrom), from *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wather (“weather”), Saterland Frisia… The correct English form is weather, spelled W-E-A-T-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The short-term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc.
  2. 2
    Unpleasant or destructive atmospheric conditions, and their effects.
  3. 3
    The direction from which the wind is blowing; used attributively to indicate the windward side.
  4. 4
    A situation.
  5. 5
    A storm; a tempest.
  6. 6
    A light shower of rain.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how weather appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What's the weather like today?
  2. We'll go for a walk when the weather's better.

Etymology

From Middle English weder, wedir, from Old English weder, from Proto-West Germanic *wedr, from Proto-Germanic *wedrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰrom (=*we-dʰrom), from *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wather (“weather”), Saterland Frisian Weeder (“weather”), Cimbrian bèttar (“weather”), Dutch weder, weer (“weather”), German Wetter (“weather”), Low German Weder (“weather”), Luxembourgish Wieder (“weather”), Yiddish וועטער (veter, “weather”), Danish vejr (“weather”), Faroese, Icelandic veður (“weather”), Norwegian Bokmål vær (“weather”), Norwegian Nynorsk veder, vêr (“weather”), Swedish väder (“weather”); also more distantly related to Russian вёдро (vjódro, “fair weather”) and perhaps Albanian vrëndë (“light rain”). Other cognates include Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “blown or put out, extinguished”).

Synonyms

state of the atmosphereweatherboard

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewather
  • waether
  • weahter
  • weatehr
  • weatherr
  • weathher
  • weathre
  • weatther
  • wetaher
  • wweather

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of weather - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ewather2waether2weahter2weatehr2weatherr1weathher1weathre2weatther1
Edit distance from "weather"

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 September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "weather"?
"weather" is spelled W-E-A-T-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɛð.ə/.
What does "weather" mean?
As a noun, "weather" means: The short-term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "weather"?
"weather" is commonly confused with "weaver", "wither", "wetter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "weather"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "weather" is /ˈwɛð.ə/. 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 "weather"?
From Middle English weder, wedir, from Old English weder, from Proto-West Germanic *wedr, from Proto-Germanic *wedrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰrom (=*we-dʰrom), from *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wather (“weather”), Saterl... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "weather", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list