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 conspicuous spelling of Kalendar points to John Evelyn’s Kalendarium Hortense, a gardener’s almanac in the classical tradition of Hesiod’s Works and Days and Cato’s De Re Rustica. —Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025

Court records of his case show at least three aliases in addition to the name used by authorities, as well as alternate spellings and punctuations for all four names. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 15 Dec. 2025

What happened in his case is there was an error in the spelling of his name. —Brian Mann, NPR, 10 Dec. 2025

The name seemed to change spelling in 1931 to honor the original postmaster, Dennis Wheatley, from the 1870 founding. —Arkansas Online, 4 Dec. 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