typo

A typo, short for typographical error, is a mistake introduced during the creation or reproduction of text. Typos can involve a wrong character, a missing letter, an extra letter, a transposed pair of letters, or altered spacing. They occur in handwriting, print, and digital input and can affect any language that uses a standard character set.

The word typo derives from typographical error and entered common usage in the early 20th century. The term is used broadly to describe inadvertent deviations from the intended text in everyday writing and typesetting.

Causes include keyboard proximity, fatigue, or haste; cognitive slips; misperception of the intended word; and software aids such as autocorrect or predictive text that introduce substitutions. Typing and transposition errors are common; optical character recognition and font issues can also create typos when digital content is converted from images.

Examples include “teh” for “the,” “definately” for “definitely,” or “occured” for “occurred.” In digital communication, typos can hinder understanding, affect perceived credibility, and complicate information retrieval. They can also propagate when copied or translated without correction.

Correction and prevention rely on proofreading, spell-checking, grammar tools, and careful reading. In software workflows, input validation and code reviews help catch typos in names, parameters, and identifiers. Using stable fonts and enabling spell-check can reduce occurrences.

Related concepts include typographical errors in printing, OCR-related misreads, and typosquatting, the exploitation of common misspellings of domain names to mislead users.