cape

/keɪp/

//keɪp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cape” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,289 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,289
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cape vs CE
0% similar
cape vs cp
50% similar
cape vs car
50% similar

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

Key facts for cape
PropertyValue
Headwordcape
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/keɪp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,289
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cape” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cape is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /keɪp/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,289 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for cape, with forms such as "acpe", "caep", and "cappe". 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, "CE", "cp", "car", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cape, gappe, cap, from Old French cap (“cape, headland”), from Latin caput (“head”). Doublet of capo, caput, chef, and chief, and distantly with head and Howth. For sense development, compare English ness (“a promontory point, cape”) fro… The correct English form is cape, spelled C-A-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland.

Etymology

From Middle English cape, gappe, cap, from Old French cap (“cape, headland”), from Latin caput (“head”). Doublet of capo, caput, chef, and chief, and distantly with head and Howth. For sense development, compare English ness (“a promontory point, cape”) from a root related to nose, Bulgarian нос (nos) (the same PIE root). Also compare coast (<< Latin costa).

This word in other languages

cabo(Español)cap(Français)Kap(Deutsch)cabo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acpe,caep,cappe,ccape,cpae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cape - 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.

acpe2caep2cappe1ccape1cpae2
Edit distance from "cape"

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 "cape"?
"cape" is spelled C-A-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is /keɪp/.
What does "cape" mean?
As a noun, "cape" means: A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland.
What words are commonly confused with "cape"?
"cape" is commonly confused with "CE", "cp", "car". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cape"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cape" is /keɪp/. 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 "cape"?
From Middle English cape, gappe, cap, from Old French cap (“cape, headland”), from Latin caput (“head”). Doublet of capo, caput, chef, and chief, and distantly with head and Howth. For sense development, compare English ness (“a promontory point, ... 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.

Using “cape”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-A-P-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /keɪp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “CE” - see the side-by-side comparison. cape vs CE
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list