with a will
/ˌwɪθ‿ə ˈwɪl/
"with-a-will" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“with a will” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a prep_phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - With willingness and zeal; with all one's heart or strength; earnestly, heartily.
| 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) |
Where “with a will” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for with a will is 11 letters long, classified as a prep_phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌwɪθ‿ə ˈwɪl/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “with a will”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-I-T-H- -A- -W-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌwɪθ‿ə ˈwɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.