spelling

noun

spell·​ing ˈspe-liŋ 

1

: the forming of words from letters according to accepted usage : orthography

2

a

: a sequence of letters composing a word

b

: the way in which a word is spelled

Examples of spelling in a Sentence

The American spelling is “color” while the British spelling is “colour.”

The words “made” and “maid” sound alike but have different spellings.

Recent Examples on the Web

The text messages are produced here verbatim, with spelling, syntax and grammatical errors intact. —Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 25 Apr. 2025

To prepare for the bee, Levi did spelling drills with his family at home. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2025

The strategy going forward is to identify new ways to get other information, advice and support to users in the same way that Grammarly provided guidance on spelling and syntax, natively, on any website or app. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025

These are errors of style rather than spelling, punctuation, or definition; errors that are caused by a rushed reply that results in a slapdash document. —Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing spelling

• finger spelling
• reformed spelling
• spelling bee
• spelling pronunciation

Rhymes for spelling

• belling
• celling
• dwelling
• fehling
• felling
• gelling
• pelling
• quelling
• selling
• shelling
• smelling
• swelling

Kids Definition

spelling

noun

spell·​ing

ˈspel-iŋ

: the forming of words from letters

also : the letters composing a word