wholesale

/ˈhoʊlseɪl/

//ˈhoʊlseɪl// noun

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

"wholesale" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wholesale” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,518. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,518
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The sale of products, often in large quantities, to retailers or other merchants.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wholesale · wholesale · English

wholesale · rank #7,518 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,518
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH varying

Nearest frequency peer: varying (-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 “wholesale”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wholesale” 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).

wholesale vs wholesome
78% similar
wholesale vs wholesaler
90% similar

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

Key facts for wholesale
PropertyValue
Headwordwholesale
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhoʊlseɪl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#7,518
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wholesale”

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).wholesalelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “varying” (#7,517), “WWE” (#7,519), “administered” (#7,520). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wholesale” is #7,518. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around wholesale (IPA /ˈhoʊlseɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,518 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The sale of products, often in large quantities, to retailers or other merchants.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for wholesale, with forms such as "hwolesale", "whholesale", and "whloesale". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "wholesome", "wholesaler", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From whole + sale. The correct English form is wholesale, spelled W-H-O-L-E-S-A-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The sale of products, often in large quantities, to retailers or other merchants.

Etymology

From whole + sale.

Antonyms

retail

This word in other languages

mayoreo(Español)Großhandel(Deutsch)atacado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hwolesale
  • whholesale
  • whloesale
  • whoelsale
  • wholeasle
  • wholesael
  • wholesalle
  • wholeslae
  • wholessale
  • whollesale
  • wholseale
  • wohlesale
  • wwholesale

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wholesale - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hwolesale2whholesale1whloesale2whoelsale2wholeasle2wholesael2wholesalle1wholeslae2
Edit distance from "wholesale"

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 "wholesale"?
"wholesale" is spelled W-H-O-L-E-S-A-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhoʊlseɪl/.
What does "wholesale" mean?
As a noun, "wholesale" means: The sale of products, often in large quantities, to retailers or other merchants.
What words are commonly confused with "wholesale"?
"wholesale" is commonly confused with "wholesome", "wholesaler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wholesale"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wholesale" is /ˈhoʊlseɪl/. 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 "wholesale"?
From whole + sale. 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 "wholesale", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

artillery#7,524assembled#7,525therapist#7,510suspicion#7,506

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

sexuality13 variantsCincinnati13 variantsrevealing13 variantsrealizing13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list