wide

/waɪd/

//waɪd// adj

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

"wide" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wide” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,177. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,177
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a large physical extent from side to side.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wide · wide · English

wide · rank #1,177 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,177
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH train

Nearest frequency peer: train (-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 “wide”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “wide” 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 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

wide vs win
50% similar
wide vs WWE
0% similar
wide vs wit
50% similar

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

Key facts for wide
PropertyValue
Headwordwide
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/waɪd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,177
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wide” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).wide 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 5 spelling variants around wide (IPA /waɪd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,177 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for wide, with forms such as "iwde", "wdie", and "widde". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "win", "WWE", "wit", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English wid, wyd, from Old English wīd (“wide, vast, broad, long; distant, far”), from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to divide, separate”), a dissimilated univerbation from *dwi- (“apart, asunder,… The correct English form is wide, spelled W-I-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a large physical extent from side to side.
  2. 2
    Large in scope.
  3. 3
    Overweight, obese.
  4. 4
    Operating at the side of the playing area.
  5. 5
    On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.
  6. 6
    Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the organs in the mouth.
  7. 7
    Vast, great in extent, extensive.
  8. 8
    Located some distance away; distant, far.
  9. 9
    Far from truth, propriety, necessity, etc.
  10. 10
    Of or supporting a greater range of text characters than can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.
  11. 11
    Sharp-witted.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We walked down a wide corridor.
  2. Over a wider region either side of the path of totality, a partial eclipse is seen.

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English wid, wyd, from Old English wīd (“wide, vast, broad, long; distant, far”), from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to divide, separate”), a dissimilated univerbation from *dwi- (“apart, asunder, in two”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to do, put, place”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian widj (“wide”), Saterland Frisian wied (“wide”), West Frisian wiid (“broad; wide”), Central Franconian weck, weit, wick, wiet (“distant, far, wide”), Dutch wijd (“wide; large; broad”), German weit (“far; wide; broad”), Luxembourgish weit (“wide”), wäit (“far”), Yiddish ווײַט (vayt, “distant, far”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vid (“wide”), Faroese and Icelandic víður (“wide”); also Breton gwez (“trees”), Cornish gwedh, gwëdh, gwydh, gwÿdh (“trees”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic fiodh (“timber, wood”), Manx fuygh (“timber, wood”), Welsh gwŷdd (“trees”), Latin dīvidō (“to divide, separate”), Latgalian vyds (“middle”), Latvian vidus (“center, middle”), Lithuanian vidùs (“interior, inside; inward”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B wätk- (“to distinguish, separate”). Related to widow.

Synonyms

broadthickwide

Antonyms

narrowthinskinnylongscrawny

This word in other languages

ancho(Español)large(Français)breit(Deutsch)largo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwde
  • wdie
  • widde
  • wied
  • wwide

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iwde2wdie2widde1wied2wwide1
Edit distance from "wide"

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 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wide"?
"wide" is spelled W-I-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /waɪd/.
What does "wide" mean?
As an adjective, "wide" means: Having a large physical extent from side to side.
What words are commonly confused with "wide"?
"wide" is commonly confused with "win", "WWE", "wit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wide"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wide" is /waɪd/. 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 "wide"?
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English wid, wyd, from Old English wīd (“wide, vast, broad, long; distant, far”), from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to divide, separate”), a dissimilated univerbation from *dwi- (“apart... 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 "wide", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fear#1,184lady#1,194plus#1,202sold#1,150

Similar misspelling depth

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

gotta5 variantsunit5 variantsrule5 variantstour5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "wide". Here's where to go from here.

  • "wide" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "win". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,177 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "W" letter cohort. W–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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