spelling

spelling — noun

1. the ability or activity of putting the letters of a word in the right order when

1.nounA2
Definition

the ability or activity of putting the letters of a word in the right order when writing or saying them

Example

Rodrigo won the class spelling competition after studying for a whole month.

collocation: spelling competition

The teacher asked the children to practise their spelling by writing each word five times.

collocation: practise spelling

Common collocations
  • spelling mistake
  • spelling error
  • spelling test
  • spelling competition
  • spelling bee
  • check someone's spelling
  • practise spelling
  • poor spelling
  • good/excellent spelling
  • struggle with spelling
Synonyms
  • orthography

    formal or technical term for the spelling system of a whole language; much less common in everyday speech

Common Mistakes

My spelling is well.
My spelling is good.
'well' is an adverb describing how you do something; 'good' is an adjective describing the quality of your spelling.
I have a bad spelling.
My spelling is bad.' or 'I am bad at spelling.
'spelling' in this sense is uncountable, so you cannot say 'a spelling'.

2. the particular set of letters that forms a word, or the accepted way of writing

2.nounA2
Definition

the particular set of letters that forms a word, or the accepted way of writing a word

Example

The word 'colour' has a different spelling in American English: 'color'.

spelling variant across varieties of English

Wei looked up the correct spelling of 'accommodate' because he was not sure it had two 'c's and two 'm's.

countable noun: the correct spelling of [word]

Common collocations
  • the correct spelling of
  • alternative spelling
  • variant spelling
  • common spelling
  • British spelling
  • American spelling
  • check the spelling
  • look up the spelling

Usage Note

This sense is countable — you can talk about 'two spellings' (two different ways to write the same word) or 'the correct spelling of a word'. It is common in dictionary entries and language-learning contexts.

Common Mistakes

What is the spelling for this word?
What is the spelling of this word?
the correct preposition to link a word with its spelling is 'of', not 'for'.
Idioms

spelling bee

idiom

a competition in which people, usually children, take turns saying the letters of a word aloud and are eliminated if they spell it wrong

Anjali reached the final round of the school spelling bee but lost on a very hard word.

spelling test

idiom

a school exercise in which a teacher reads words aloud and students write them down to show they know the correct letter order

Mert studied hard for Friday's spelling test and got every single word right.

Word family

  • spell
    verbA1
  • speller
    nounB1
  • misspell
    verbB1
  • misspelling
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Spelling, orthography, writing, and literacy all relate to written language but differ in focus. Spelling refers specifically to putting letters in the correct order to form a word — a basic building block of written communication. Orthography is the formal, technical term for the entire spelling system of a language, including rules about punctuation and letter sequences; it is rarely used in everyday speech. Writing covers a much wider range of activities, from composing a short email to drafting a novel. Literacy is the broadest of the four — it describes the complete ability to read and write in any context. A student might have good spelling but still struggle with writing a full paragraph; that same student may be literate enough to read a street sign but not a newspaper article. When choosing a word, match the scope of what you mean: use 'spelling' for letter-level accuracy, 'orthography' for academic discussion of spelling rules, 'writing' for text composition, and 'literacy' for overall reading-and-writing ability.

spelling ↗orthographywriting ↗literacy ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • spelling of
  • in spelling

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The noun 'spelling' was formed in English by adding '-ing' to the verb 'spell', which comes from Old English 'spellian' meaning 'to tell, relate, or speak'. Over time, 'spell' developed the specific meaning of naming letters in order, and 'spelling' emerged as the noun for that activity and its result.