weathering

noun

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

"weathering" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“weathering” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,286. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,286
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Weather, especially favourable or fair weather.

Corpus desk

Index EN-weathering · weathering · English

weathering · rank #30,286 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,286
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH Waverly

Nearest frequency peer: Waverly (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “weathering”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “weathering” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

weathering vs withering
80% similar
weathering vs watering
80% similar

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

Key facts for weathering
PropertyValue
Headwordweathering
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#30,286
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “weathering”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).weatheringlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Waverly” (#30,285), “webcast” (#30,287), “watermark” (#30,284). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “weathering” is #30,286. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around weathering, anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,286 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for weathering, with forms such as "ewathering", "waethering", and "weahtering". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "withering", "watering", 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 wederyng, equivalent to weather + -ing. The correct English form is weathering, spelled W-E-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Weather, especially favourable or fair weather.
  2. 2
    Mechanical or chemical breaking down of rocks in situ by weather or other causes.
  3. 3
    A slight inclination given to an approximately horizontal surface to enable it to throw off water.
  4. 4
    The action of weather on objects exposed to it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. At that point the cuesta is 10 miles wide but the hilltops have an eastward descent of only about 62 feet. In its general eastward slope the surface of the cuesta is exactly that of one made by weathering and stream erosion, acting upon a gently-dipping limestone bed in a region never glaciated.
  2. Furthermore, changes in continental weathering and riverine contributions to the oceans may also be linked with climate, and hydrothermal inputs vary with tectonism.

Etymology

From Middle English wederyng, equivalent to weather + -ing.

This word in other languages

meteorización(Español)météorisation(Français)Verwitterung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewathering
  • waethering
  • weahtering
  • weatehring
  • weatheirng
  • weatherign
  • weatheringg
  • weatherinng
  • weathernig
  • weatherring
  • weathhering
  • weathreing
  • weatthering
  • wetahering
  • wweathering

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ewathering2waethering2weahtering2weatehring2weatheirng2weatherign2weatheringg1weatherinng1
Edit distance from "weathering"

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 "weathering"?
"weathering" is spelled W-E-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G.
What does "weathering" mean?
As a noun, "weathering" means: Weather, especially favourable or fair weather.
What words are commonly confused with "weathering"?
"weathering" is commonly confused with "withering", "watering". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "weathering"?
From Middle English wederyng, equivalent to weather + -ing. 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 "weathering", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

vertebrate#30,279ventilator#30,278underscore#30,269tyrannical#30,267

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

antithesis15 variantschimpanzee15 variantsrecounting15 variantsposthumous15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list