working

/ˈwɜːkɪŋ/

//ˈwɜːkɪŋ// noun

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

"working" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“working” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #342. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#342
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Operation; action.

Corpus desk

Index EN-working · working · English

working · rank #342 · 11 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #342
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH story

Nearest frequency peer: story (-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 “working”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “working” 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).

working vs wring
71% similar
working vs worrying
75% similar
working vs workings
88% similar

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

Key facts for working
PropertyValue
Headwordworking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwɜːkɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#342
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “working”

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).workinglands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “story” (#341), “course” (#343), “president” (#340). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “working” is #342. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around working (IPA /ˈwɜːkɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #342 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for working, with forms such as "owrking", "wokring", and "worikng". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "wring", "worrying", "workings", 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 werking, werkynge, warkynge, worchinge, from Old English wyrċing (“working”), verbal noun of wyrċan (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Cognate with Scots wirking, warking, Dutch werking, German Wirkung. The correct English form is working, spelled W-O-R-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Operation; action.
  2. 2
    Method of operation.
  3. 3
    The incidental or subsidiary calculations performed in solving an overall problem.
  4. 4
    Fermentation.
  5. 5
    Becoming full of a vegetable substance.
  6. 6
    A place where work is carried on.
  7. 7
    A train movement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Be sure to check your working.
  2. the abandoned mine workings

Etymology

From Middle English werking, werkynge, warkynge, worchinge, from Old English wyrċing (“working”), verbal noun of wyrċan (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Cognate with Scots wirking, warking, Dutch werking, German Wirkung.

This word in other languages

fonctionnement(Français)Ansatz(Deutsch)serviço(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • owrking
  • wokring
  • worikng
  • workign
  • workingg
  • workinng
  • workking
  • worknig
  • worrking
  • wroking
  • wworking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

owrking2wokring2worikng2workign2workingg1workinng1workking1worknig2
Edit distance from "working"

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 "working"?
"working" is spelled W-O-R-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɜːkɪŋ/.
What does "working" mean?
As a noun, "working" means: Operation; action.
What words are commonly confused with "working"?
"working" is commonly confused with "wring", "worrying", "workings". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "working"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "working" is /ˈwɜːkɪŋ/. 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 "working"?
From Middle English werking, werkynge, warkynge, worchinge, from Old English wyrċing (“working”), verbal noun of wyrċan (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Cognate with Scots wirking, warking, Dutch werking, German Wirkung. 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 "working", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

friends#355they're#321general#320country#313

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

everyone11 variantsAmerican11 variantscontrol11 variantsproblem11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list