with a will
/ˌwɪθ‿ə ˈwɪl/
"with-a-will" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“with a will” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - With willingness and zeal; with all one's heart or strength; earnestly, heartily.
Corpus desk
Index EN-with-a-will · with a will · English
with a will · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | with a will |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| IPA | /ˌwɪθ‿ə ˈwɪl/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “with a will” in English
Rare enough to double-check
with a will is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase, transcribed /ˌwɪθ‿ə ˈwɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "With willingness and zeal; with all one's heart or strength; earnestly, heartily.".
Zero misspellings are on record for with a will in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From with + a + will (“firmity of purpose, fixity of intent”), originally often used to refer to rowing a boat vigorously. The correct English form is with a will, spelled W-I-T-H- -A- -W-I-L-L.
Definition
- 1With willingness and zeal; with all one's heart or strength; earnestly, heartily.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how with a will appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
«Yes!» muttered the Rover, with bitter irony, as his boat rowed under the stern of the cruiser of the Crown; «yes! I, and my officers, will taste of your banquet! But the viands shall be such as these hirelings of the King shall little relish!—Pull with a will, my men, pull; in an hour, you shall rummage the store-rooms of that fool, for your reward!»
So Willy and I were wedded: I wore a lilac gown; / And the ringers rang with a will, and he gave the ringers a crown.
Etymology
From with + a + will (“firmity of purpose, fixity of intent”), originally often used to refer to rowing a boat vigorously.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.