wound

/wuːnd/

//wuːnd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“wound” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,814 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,814
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wound vs wounds
83% similar
wound vs wounded
71% similar
wound vs won
60% similar

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

Key facts for wound
PropertyValue
Headwordwound
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wuːnd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,814
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wound” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). wound lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for wound is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /wuːnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,814 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for wound, with forms such as "owund", "wonud", and "woudn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "wounds", "wounded", "won", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Noun from Middle English wund, from Old English wund, from Proto-Germanic *wundō. Verb from Middle English wunden, from Old English wundian, from Proto-Germanic *wundōną. The correct English form is wound, spelled W-O-U-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body.
  2. 2
    A hurt to a person's feelings, reputation, prospects, etc.
  3. 3
    An injury to a person by which the skin is divided or its continuity broken.

Etymology

Noun from Middle English wund, from Old English wund, from Proto-Germanic *wundō. Verb from Middle English wunden, from Old English wundian, from Proto-Germanic *wundōną.

Synonyms

injurylesionslightslurinsult

This word in other languages

herida(Español)blessure(Français)Wunde(Deutsch)ferimento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: owund,wonud,woudn,woundd,wounnd,wuond,wwound

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wound - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

owund2wonud2woudn2woundd1wounnd1wuond2wwound1
Edit distance from "wound"

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 "wound"?
"wound" is spelled W-O-U-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /wuːnd/.
What does "wound" mean?
As a noun, "wound" means: An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body.
What words are commonly confused with "wound"?
"wound" is commonly confused with "wounds", "wounded", "won". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wound"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wound" is /wuːnd/. 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 "wound"?
Noun from Middle English wund, from Old English wund, from Proto-Germanic *wundō. Verb from Middle English wunden, from Old English wundian, from Proto-Germanic *wundōną. 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.

Using “wound”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-O-U-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /wuːnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “wounds” - see the side-by-side comparison. wound vs wounds
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list