worth

/wɜːθ/

//wɜːθ// adj

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

"worth" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“worth” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #726. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#726
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.

Corpus desk

Index EN-worth · worth · English

worth · rank #726 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #726
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH worked

Nearest frequency peer: worked (-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 “worth”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “worth” 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).

worth vs wot
60% similar
worth vs WTH
0% similar
worth vs wrath
60% similar

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

Key facts for worth
PropertyValue
Headwordworth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/wɜːθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#726
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “worth”

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).worthlands 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 “worked” (#725), “tried” (#724), “became” (#728). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “worth” is #726. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around worth (IPA /wɜːθ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #726 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for worth, with forms such as "owrth", "worht", and "worrth". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wot", "WTH", "wrath", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English worth, from Old English weorþ, from Proto-West Germanic *werþ, from Proto-Germanic *werþaz (“worthy, valuable”); from Proto-Indo-European *wert-. Cognate with Scots wirth (“worth”), Cimbrian bèart (“worth, value”), Dutch waard, weerd (“w… The correct English form is worth, spelled W-O-R-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
  2. 2
    Deserving of.
  3. 3
    Valuable, worthwhile.
  4. 4
    Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. How much / What is your house worth? - Now it's worth half what I paid for it. So it'd sure would be worthwhile to repair before putting it for sale.
  2. Cleanliness is a virtue worth more than others.

Etymology

From Middle English worth, from Old English weorþ, from Proto-West Germanic *werþ, from Proto-Germanic *werþaz (“worthy, valuable”); from Proto-Indo-European *wert-. Cognate with Scots wirth (“worth”), Cimbrian bèart (“worth, value”), Dutch waard, weerd (“worth”), German wert (“worth”), Luxembourgish wäert (“worth”), Yiddish ווערט (vert), ווערד (verd, “worth, value”), Danish værd (“worth”), Faroese and Icelandic verður (“worth”), Norwegian Bokmål verdt (“worth”), Norwegian Nynorsk verd (“worth”), Swedish värd (“worth”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸 (wairþ, “worth, value”), Welsh gwerth (“worth, value”), Polish wart (“worth”), Ukrainian вартість (vartistʹ, “worth, value”).

This word in other languages

valioso(Español)équivalent(Français)Wert(Deutsch)equivalente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • owrth
  • worht
  • worrth
  • worthh
  • wortth
  • wotrh
  • wroth
  • wworth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

owrth2worht2worrth1worthh1wortth1wotrh2wroth2wworth1
Edit distance from "worth"

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 "worth"?
"worth" is spelled W-O-R-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /wɜːθ/.
What does "worth" mean?
As an adjective, "worth" means: Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
What words are commonly confused with "worth"?
"worth" is commonly confused with "wot", "WTH", "wrath". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "worth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "worth" is /wɜːθ/. 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 "worth"?
From Middle English worth, from Old English weorþ, from Proto-West Germanic *werþ, from Proto-Germanic *werþaz (“worthy, valuable”); from Proto-Indo-European *wert-. Cognate with Scots wirth (“worth”), Cimbrian bèart (“worth, value”), Dutch waard,... 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 "worth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tried#724books#730press#719movie#715

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

became8 variantshands8 variantssource8 variantsusually8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list