westward
/ˈwɛst.wɚd/
"westward" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“westward” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,462. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #18,462
- frequency rank, English
- 12,113
- “W” headwords
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lying toward the west.
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 | westward |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈwɛst.wɚd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #18,462 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “westward” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 13 spelling variants around westward (IPA /ˈwɛst.wɚd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #18,462 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for westward, with forms such as "ewstward", "wesstward", and "westawrd". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Westwood", 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 westward, from Old English westweard. The correct English form is westward, spelled W-E-S-T-W-A-R-D.
Definition
- 1Lying toward the west.
- 2Moving or oriented toward the west.
Etymology
From Middle English westward, from Old English westweard.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ewstward,wesstward,westawrd,westtward,westwadr,westwardd,westwarrd,westwrad,westwward,weswtard,wetsward,wsetward,wwestward
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of westward - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "westward"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “westward”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-E-S-T-W-A-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɛst.wɚd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Westwood” - see the side-by-side comparison. westward vs Westwood
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.