wing

/wɪŋ/

//wɪŋ// noun

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

The verdict

“wing” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,471. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,471
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wing · wing · English

wing · rank #2,471 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,471
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH upset

Nearest frequency peer: upset (-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 “wing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wing” 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).

wing vs won
50% similar
wing vs wit
50% similar
wing vs wis
50% similar

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

Key facts for wing
PropertyValue
Headwordwing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wɪŋ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,471
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wing”

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).winglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “upset” (#2,470), “unable” (#2,469), “answers” (#2,473). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wing” is #2,471. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around wing (IPA /wɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,471 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 31 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for wing, with forms such as "iwng", "wign", and "wingg". 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, "won", "wit", "wis", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English winge, wenge, from Old Norse vængr ("wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare vængi (“ship's cabin”)), from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”), thus related to wind. Cognate with Danish,… The correct English form is wing, spelled W-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.
  2. 2
    A fin at the side of a ray or similar fish.
  3. 3
    Human arm.
  4. 4
    Part of an aircraft that produces the lift for rising into the air.
  5. 5
    One of the large pectoral fins of a flying fish.
  6. 6
    One of the broad, thin, anterior lobes of the foot of a pteropod, used as an organ in swimming.
  7. 7
    Any membranaceous expansion, such as that along the sides of certain stems, or one of the bracts on a dragon fruit, or of a fruit of the kind called samara.
  8. 8
    Either of the two side petals of a papilionaceous flower.
  9. 9
    A side shoot of a tree or plant; a branch growing up by the side of another.
  10. 10
    Passage by flying; flight.
  11. 11
    Limb or instrument of flight; means of flight or of rapid motion.
  12. 12
    A part of something that is lesser in size than the main body, and located at the side, such as an extension from the main building.
  13. 13
    One of the longer sides of crownworks or hornworks in fortification.
  14. 14
    Ellipsis of prison wing, a cellblock; or prison or doing time by extension.
  15. 15
    Anything that agitates the air as a wing does, or is put in winglike motion by the action of the air, such as a fan or vane for winnowing grain, the vane or sail of a windmill, the sail of a ship, etc.
  16. 16
    A protruding piece of material on a menstrual pad or diaper to hold it in place and prevent leakage.
  17. 17
    An ornament worn on the shoulder; a small epaulet or shoulder knot.
  18. 18
    A cosmetic effect where eyeliner curves outward and ends at a point.
  19. 19
    A faction of a political movement. Usually implies a position apart from the mainstream center position.
  20. 20
    An organizational grouping in a military aviation service:
  21. 21
    An organizational grouping in a military aviation service:
  22. 22
    A panel of a car which encloses the wheel area, especially the front wheels.
  23. 23
    A platform on either side of the bridge of a vessel, normally found in pairs.
  24. 24
    That part of the hold or orlop of a vessel which is nearest the sides. In a fleet, one of the extremities when the ships are drawn up in line, or when forming the two sides of a triangle.
  25. 25
    A position in several field games on either side of the field.
  26. 26
    A player occupying such a position, also called a winger
  27. 27
    A háček.
  28. 28
    One of the unseen areas on the side of the stage in a theatre.
  29. 29
    The insignia of a qualified pilot or aircrew member.
  30. 30
    A portable shelter consisting of a fabric roof on a frame, like a tent without sides.
  31. 31
    On the enneagram, one of the two adjacent types to an enneatype that forms an individual's subtype of his or her enneatype.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The bird was flapping its wings
  2. I took my seat on the plane, overlooking the wing.

Etymology

From Middle English winge, wenge, from Old Norse vængr ("wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare vængi (“ship's cabin”)), from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”), thus related to wind. Cognate with Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish vinge (“wing”), Elfdalian waingg (“wing”), Faroese vongur (“wing”), Icelandic vængur (“wing”), Norwegian Nynorsk veng (“wing”). Replaced native Middle English fither (from Old English fiþre, from Proto-Germanic *fiþriją), which merged with Middle English fether (from Old English feþer, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō). More at feather.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwng
  • wign
  • wingg
  • winng
  • wnig
  • wwing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iwng2wign2wingg1winng1wnig2wwing1
Edit distance from "wing"

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 "wing"?
"wing" is spelled W-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /wɪŋ/.
What does "wing" mean?
As a noun, "wing" means: An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.
What words are commonly confused with "wing"?
"wing" is commonly confused with "won", "wit", "wis". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wing" is /wɪŋ/. 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 "wing"?
From Middle English winge, wenge, from Old Norse vængr ("wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare vængi (“ship's cabin”)), from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”), thus related to wind. Cognate wi... 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 "wing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list