What a spell checker catches, and what it misses
A spell checker compares every word with a word list. If the word is not on the list, it is flagged and the closest matches are suggested. That finds typos such as teh and invented spellings such as definately.
It cannot read meaning. Their for there, affect for effect and its for it's are all real words, so a plain word list passes them. This tool adds a list of known confusions, but it does not understand your sentence. For whole-sentence errors, run the Grammar Checker too.
American vs British English
English has no academy that rules on spelling, so two traditions coexist. American spelling follows Merriam-Webster; British spelling follows the Oxford dictionaries. Neither is wrong in its own country.
| American | British | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| color | colour | -or / -our |
| organize | organise (Oxford keeps -ize) | -ize / -ise |
| center | centre | -er / -re |
| traveling | travelling | single / double l |
| defense | defence | -se / -ce |
| program | programme (for a plan) | program / programme |
Pick the variety your reader expects and stay with it. A UK university dissertation should use British spelling throughout, while a US business report should use American spelling. Australian and Canadian English have their own lists, and the tool loads the one you choose. For the full picture, see the commonly confused words pages in the spelling section.
Words people misspell most
The usual suspects are doubled or missing letters: accommodate, occurred, separate, receive and until. For these, the checker shows the correct form and the reason, for example that separate comes from Latin separare.
How to use the results
- Do not click Apply blindly: a flagged name, brand or technical term is often correct.
- Add one pass for the there/their/they're kind of error by reading aloud.
- Check the variety once more before you submit anything with a style requirement.
Limits
The checker is built for text you paste in. It does not check files, and it is not a dictionary: to look up a word's meaning, use the Dictionary.