winding
/ˈwɪndɪŋ/
"winding" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“winding” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,155 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,155
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 18
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - gerund of wind
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 | winding |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɪndɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #11,155 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 18 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “winding” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for winding is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɪndɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,155 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for winding, with forms such as "iwnding", "widning", and "windding". 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 18 confusable-pair relationships, "wiring", "wiping", "winning", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating; act of winnowing (?)”), from winden, wynden (“to expose (something) to the air or wind, ventilate; to cause (someone) to be out… The correct English form is winding, spelled W-I-N-D-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1gerund of wind
- 2gerund of wind
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating; act of winnowing (?)”), from winden, wynden (“to expose (something) to the air or wind, ventilate; to cause (someone) to be out of breath; to winnow (wheat); of an animal: to catch the scent of (someone or something)”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs). The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (“to blow air through (a wind instrument or horn) to make a sound; to cause (someone) to become breathless; to winnow (food grain), etc.”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iwnding,widning,windding,windign,windingg,windinng,windnig,winidng,winnding,wniding,wwinding
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of winding - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "winding"?
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Using “winding”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-I-N-D-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɪndɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “wiring” - see the side-by-side comparison. winding vs wiring
- 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.