worse for wear
"worse-for-wear" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“worse for wear” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - In poor physical condition due to long or heavy use.
Corpus desk
Index EN-worse-for-wear · worse for wear · English
worse for wear · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-5 5 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 | worse for wear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “worse for wear” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
worse for wear is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for worse for wear, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is worse for wear, spelled W-O-R-S-E- -F-O-R- -W-E-A-R.
Definition
- 1In poor physical condition due to long or heavy use.
- 2Drunk.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how worse for wear appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
However, before Zoe could open the first cage, Burt’s van, looking decidedly the worse for wear, came thundering into the warehouse, smashing the huge metal sliding door into the air as it did so
This word in other languages
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.