windy

/ˈwɪn.di/

//ˈwɪn.di// adj

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

"windy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“windy” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,643. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,643
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Accompanied by wind.

Corpus desk

Index EN-windy · windy · English

windy · rank #13,643 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,643
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH winger

Nearest frequency peer: winger (+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 “windy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “windy” 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).

windy vs wine
60% similar
windy vs wins
60% similar
windy vs wing
60% similar

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

Key facts for windy
PropertyValue
Headwordwindy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈwɪn.di/
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,643
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “windy”

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).windylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “winger” (#13,644), “wellness” (#13,641), “WordPress” (#13,645). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “windy” is #13,643. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around windy (IPA /ˈwɪn.di/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #13,643 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for windy, with forms such as "iwndy", "widny", and "winddy". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wine", "wins", "wing", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English windy, from Old English windiġ (“windy”), from Proto-Germanic *windigaz (“windy”), equivalent to wind + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian wiendich (“windy”), West Frisian winich (“windy”), Dutch winderig (“windy”), German Low German win… The correct English form is windy, spelled W-I-N-D-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Accompanied by wind.
  2. 2
    Unsheltered and open to the wind.
  3. 3
    Empty and lacking substance.
  4. 4
    Long-winded; orally verbose.
  5. 5
    Flatulent.
  6. 6
    Nervous, frightened.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was a long and windy night.
  2. “Everybody is interested in extremes – the hottest, the wettest, the windiest – so creating a database of professionally verified records is useful in that fact alone,” says Randall Cerveny from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Etymology

From Middle English windy, from Old English windiġ (“windy”), from Proto-Germanic *windigaz (“windy”), equivalent to wind + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian wiendich (“windy”), West Frisian winich (“windy”), Dutch winderig (“windy”), German Low German windig (“windy”), German windig (“windy”), Swedish vindig (“windy”), Icelandic vindugur (“windy”). The “frightened” sense probably derives from the phrase have the wind up.

This word in other languages

ventoso(Español)venteux(Français)windig(Deutsch)ventoso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwndy
  • widny
  • winddy
  • windyy
  • winndy
  • winyd
  • wnidy
  • wwindy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iwndy2widny2winddy1windyy1winndy1winyd2wnidy2wwindy1
Edit distance from "windy"

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 "windy"?
"windy" is spelled W-I-N-D-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɪn.di/.
What does "windy" mean?
As an adjective, "windy" means: Accompanied by wind.
What words are commonly confused with "windy"?
"windy" is commonly confused with "wine", "wins", "wing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "windy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "windy" is /ˈwɪn.di/. 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 "windy"?
From Middle English windy, from Old English windiġ (“windy”), from Proto-Germanic *windigaz (“windy”), equivalent to wind + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian wiendich (“windy”), West Frisian winich (“windy”), Dutch winderig (“windy”), German Low ... 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 "windy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

vines#13,637venom#13,635blush#13,671claws#13,683

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

unnamed8 variantsbarbie8 variantsseeded8 variantscommute8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list