avast
/əˈvɑːst/
"avast" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“avast” is uncommon English (frequency #55,930 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #55,930
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hold fast!; cease!; stop!
Corpus desk
Index EN-avast · avast · English
avast · rank #55,930 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #55,930
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH Audley
Nearest frequency peer: Audley (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “avast”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Asterix
Asterix
44,075 corpus weight
- astigmatism
astigmatism
44,074 corpus weight
- audiophile
audiophile
44,073 corpus weight
- Audley
Audley
44,072 corpus weight
- avast
avast
44,071 corpus weight
- backgammon
backgammon
44,067 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “avast” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | avast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /əˈvɑːst/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #55,930 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “avast” in English
Rare enough to double-check
avast is uncommon English at frequency #55,930 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /əˈvɑːst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
avast has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably borrowed from Dutch hou vast, houd vast (“hold fast!”), from houd (imperative of houden, “to hold”) + vast (“fast, firm, tight”). Doublet of hold fast. The correct English form is avast, spelled A-V-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1Hold fast!; cease!; stop!
- 2In imitation of pirates: listen!; pay attention!
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how avast appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Then pull avvay, hoa up, hoa up, hoa up, ſo avaſt there, Sir.
Avaſt, brother, avaſt! ſheer off—Yo ho! you turnkey, vvhy don't you keep a better look out? here's one of your crazy priſoners broke from his laſhings, I do ſuppoſe.
Etymology
Probably borrowed from Dutch hou vast, houd vast (“hold fast!”), from houd (imperative of houden, “to hold”) + vast (“fast, firm, tight”). Doublet of hold fast.
Synonyms
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "avast", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).