wildfire
/ˈwaɪldˌfaɪɚ/
"wildfire" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wildfire” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,223. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #18,223
- frequency rank, English
- 12,113
- “W” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A rapidly spreading fire, especially one occurring in a wildland area.
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 | wildfire |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwaɪldˌfaɪɚ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #18,223 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wildfire” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around wildfire (IPA /ˈwaɪldˌfaɪɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,223 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for wildfire, with forms such as "iwldfire", "widlfire", and "wilddfire". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "wildlife", "Wilshire", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English wilde fyr, wilde fire, wylde fyre, from Old English wilde fȳr. By surface analysis, wild + fire. The correct English form is wildfire, spelled W-I-L-D-F-I-R-E.
Definition
- 1A rapidly spreading fire, especially one occurring in a wildland area.
- 2Greek fire.
- 3A spreading disease of the skin, particularly erysipelas.
- 4Something that acts or spreads quickly and uncontrollably.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English wilde fyr, wilde fire, wylde fyre, from Old English wilde fȳr. By surface analysis, wild + fire.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iwldfire,widlfire,wilddfire,wildffire,wildfier,wildfirre,wildfrie,wildifre,wilfdire,willdfire,wlidfire,wwildfire
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wildfire - 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 "wildfire"?
What does "wildfire" mean?
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Using “wildfire”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-I-L-D-F-I-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwaɪldˌfaɪɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “wildlife” - see the side-by-side comparison. wildfire vs wildlife
- 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.