ahoy
/əˈhɔɪ/
"ahoy" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ahoy” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #40,107 in English word frequency and used as an interjection.
- #40,107
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ahoy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /əˈhɔɪ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #40,107 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ahoy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ahoy is 4 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈhɔɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #40,107 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for ahoy, with forms such as "ahhoy", "ahoyy", and "ahyo". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ay", "ao", "any", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From a- + hoy (a nautical call used in hauling), from Middle English hoy (interjection), a greeting dating back to the fourteenth century. Compare Dutch hoi (“hi!, hello!”). The correct English form is ahoy, spelled A-H-O-Y.
Definition
- 1Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.
- 2Warning of something approaching or impending.
Etymology
From a- + hoy (a nautical call used in hauling), from Middle English hoy (interjection), a greeting dating back to the fourteenth century. Compare Dutch hoi (“hi!, hello!”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ahhoy,ahoyy,ahyo,aohy,haoy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ahoy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "ahoy"?
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Using “ahoy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-H-O-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈhɔɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ay” - see the side-by-side comparison. ahoy vs ay
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.