clerk

/klɑːk/

//klɑːk// noun

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

"clerk" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clerk” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,108. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,108
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clerk · clerk · English

clerk · rank #7,108 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,108
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH civic

Nearest frequency peer: civic (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “clerk”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “clerk” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

clerk vs cork
60% similar
clerk vs click
60% similar
clerk vs clock
60% similar

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

Key facts for clerk
PropertyValue
Headwordclerk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/klɑːk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,108
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “clerk”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “civic” (#7,107), “chin” (#7,106), “considerably” (#7,110). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “clerk” is #7,108. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around clerk (IPA /klɑːk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,108 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for clerk, with forms such as "cclerk", "celrk", and "clekr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cork", "click", "clock", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clerc, from Old English clerc, from Late Latin clēricus (“priest, clergyman, cleric”, also generally “learned man, clerk”), from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós, “of the clergy”, adj. in church jargon), from κλῆρος (klêros, “lot, inheri… The correct English form is clerk, spelled C-L-E-R-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
  2. 2
    One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
  3. 3
    One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
  4. 4
    One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
  5. 5
    One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
  6. 6
    A facilitator of a Quaker meeting for business affairs.
  7. 7
    In the Church of England, the layman that assists in the church service, especially in reading the responses (also called parish clerk and Bible clerk).
  8. 8
    A cleric or clergyman (the legal title for clergy of the Church of England is "Clerk in Holy Orders", still used in legal documents and cherished by some of their number).
  9. 9
    A scholar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. As office boy I made such a mark That they gave me the post of a junior clerk.
  2. Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.

Etymology

From Middle English clerc, from Old English clerc, from Late Latin clēricus (“priest, clergyman, cleric”, also generally “learned man, clerk”), from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós, “of the clergy”, adj. in church jargon), from κλῆρος (klêros, “lot, inheritance”, originally “shard used in casting lots”). Doublet of cleric. Compare typologically Russian дьяк (dʹjak) (akin to дья́кон (dʹjákon)).

Synonyms

registerregistrarscribesecretary

This word in other languages

clérigo(Español)greffier(Français)Angestellte(Deutsch)clérigo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cclerk
  • celrk
  • clekr
  • clerkk
  • clerrk
  • cllerk
  • clrek
  • lcerk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cclerk1celrk2clekr2clerkk1clerrk1cllerk1clrek2lcerk2
Edit distance from "clerk"

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 "clerk"?
"clerk" is spelled C-L-E-R-K. The IPA pronunciation is /klɑːk/.
What does "clerk" mean?
As a noun, "clerk" means: One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
What words are commonly confused with "clerk"?
"clerk" is commonly confused with "cork", "click", "clock". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "clerk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "clerk" is /klɑːk/. 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 "clerk"?
From Middle English clerc, from Old English clerc, from Late Latin clēricus (“priest, clergyman, cleric”, also generally “learned man, clerk”), from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós, “of the clergy”, adj. in church jargon), from κλῆρος (klêros, “l... 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 "clerk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

civic#7,107crude#7,115Blair#7,099acute#7,091

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

cottage8 variantsbehave8 variantsbanana8 variantsarrange8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list