weigh
/weɪ/
"weigh" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“weigh” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,303 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #7,303
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To determine the weight of an object.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | weigh |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /weɪ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #7,303 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “weigh” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for weigh is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /weɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,303 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for weigh, with forms such as "ewigh", "wegih", and "weiggh". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wig", "with", "wish", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English weyen, from Old English wegan, from Proto-West Germanic *wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry, weigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti, from *weǵʰ- (“to bring, transport”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wey, wee, Dutch we… The correct English form is weigh, spelled W-E-I-G-H.
Definition
- 1To determine the weight of an object.
- 2Often with "out", to measure a certain amount of something by its weight, e.g. for sale.
- 3To determine the intrinsic value or merit of an object, to evaluate.
- 4To judge; to estimate.
- 5To consider a subject.
- 6To have a certain weight.
- 7To have weight; to be heavy; to press down.
- 8To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance.
- 9To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
- 10To weigh anchor.
- 11To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up.
- 12To consider as worthy of notice; to regard.
Etymology
From Middle English weyen, from Old English wegan, from Proto-West Germanic *wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry, weigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti, from *weǵʰ- (“to bring, transport”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wey, wee, Dutch wegen, German wiegen, wägen, Danish veje, Norwegian Bokmål veie, Norwegian Nynorsk vega. Doublet of wedge, wagon, way, and vector.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ewigh,wegih,weiggh,weighh,weihg,wiegh,wweigh
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of weigh - 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.
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
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Using “weigh”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-E-I-G-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /weɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “wig” - see the side-by-side comparison. weigh vs wig
- 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.