aloe

/ˈæ.loʊ/

//ˈæ.loʊ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"aloe" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aloe” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #26,674) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#26,674
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The resins of the tree Aquilaria malaccensis (syn. Aquilaria agallocha), known for their fragrant aroma, produced after infection by the fungus Phialophora parasitica.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aloe · aloe · English

aloe · rank #26,674 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,674
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH almanac

Nearest frequency peer: almanac (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “aloe”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “aloe” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

aloe vs ao
50% similar
aloe vs are
50% similar
aloe vs ate
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for aloe
PropertyValue
Headwordaloe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæ.loʊ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#26,674
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “aloe”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).aloelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “almanac” (#26,673), “amphibious” (#26,675), “alleys” (#26,672). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aloe” is #26,674. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for aloe is neighbouring look-alikes ("ao", "are", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈæ.loʊ/. Frequency #26,674 among 3,931 “A” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for aloe, with forms such as "aleo", "alloe", and "aole". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ao", "are", "ate", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English alwe (“fragrant resin of an East Indian tree”), from Latin aloē, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λόη (ălóē), from Hebrew אָהָל (ʾāhāl) or related Aramaic forms, ultimately from Tamil அகில் (akil); reinforced in Middle English by Old French aloes. The correct English form is aloe, spelled A-L-O-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The resins of the tree Aquilaria malaccensis (syn. Aquilaria agallocha), known for their fragrant aroma, produced after infection by the fungus Phialophora parasitica.
  2. 2
    Any plant of the large and variable genus Aloe.
  3. 3
    Misnomer for any large, vaguely aloe-like plant, such as Agave
  4. 4
    A strong, bitter drink made from the juice of such plants, used as a purgative.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how aloe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1885 Ferdinand von Mueller: Select Extra-tropical Plants, Readily Eligible For Industrial Culture Or Naturalization. pub: Melbourne: J. Ferres Aloe ferox, Miller. South-Africa. This species yields the best Cape-aloes, as observed by Dr. Pappe. The simply inspissated juice of the leaves of the various species of the genus constitutes the aloe-drug. It is b…
  2. '…you know how difficult it is to break yourself of a habit.' 'Yes,' said Cyril; 'Jane used to bite her nails.' 'But I broke myself of it,' urged Jane, rather hurt, 'You know I did.' 'Not till they put bitter aloes on them,' said Cyril.

Etymology

From Old English alwe (“fragrant resin of an East Indian tree”), from Latin aloē, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λόη (ălóē), from Hebrew אָהָל (ʾāhāl) or related Aramaic forms, ultimately from Tamil அகில் (akil); reinforced in Middle English by Old French aloes.

This word in other languages

áloe(Español)aloès(Français)Aloe(Deutsch)aloés(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aleo
  • alloe
  • aole
  • laoe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of aloe - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aleo2alloe1aole2laoe2
Edit distance from "aloe"

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 "aloe"?
"aloe" is spelled A-L-O-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæ.loʊ/.
What does "aloe" mean?
As a noun, "aloe" means: The resins of the tree Aquilaria malaccensis (syn. Aquilaria agallocha), known for their fragrant aroma, produced after infection by the fungus Phialophora parasitica.
What words are commonly confused with "aloe"?
"aloe" is commonly confused with "ao", "are", "ate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "aloe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aloe" is /ˈæ.loʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "aloe"?
From Old English alwe (“fragrant resin of an East Indian tree”), from Latin aloē, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λόη (ălóē), from Hebrew אָהָל (ʾāhāl) or related Aramaic forms, ultimately from Tamil அகில் (akil); reinforced in Middle English by Old French a... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "aloe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

yawn#26,663Bess#26,696brim#26,705Umar#26,642

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list