cock

/kɒk/

//kɒk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cock” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,839 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,839
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male bird, especially:

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cock vs cop
50% similar
cock vs con
50% similar
cock vs cow
50% similar

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

Key facts for cock
PropertyValue
Headwordcock
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɒk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,839
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cock” 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). cock 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 cock is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɒk/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,839 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 21 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cock, with forms such as "ccock", "ccok", and "cocck". 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, "cop", "con", "cow", 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 Middle English cok, from Old English coc, cocc (“cock, male bird”), from Proto-West Germanic *kokk, from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock”), probably of onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Middle Dutch cocke (“cock, male bird”) and Old Norse kokkr ("cock"; … The correct English form is cock, spelled C-O-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male bird, especially:
  2. 2
    A male bird, especially:
  3. 3
    A valve or tap for controlling flow in plumbing.
  4. 4
    The hammer of a firearm trigger mechanism.
  5. 5
    A penis.
  6. 6
    The circle at the end of the rink.
  7. 7
    The state of being cocked; an upward turn, tilt or angle.
  8. 8
    A stupid, obnoxious or contemptible person.
  9. 9
    Nonsense; rubbish; a fraud.
  10. 10
    An apocryphal story supposedly describing a public event, once sold by street hawkers.
  11. 11
    A man; a fellow.
  12. 12
    A boastful tilt of one's head or hat.
  13. 13
    Shuttlecock.
  14. 14
    A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock.
  15. 15
    A chief person; a leader or master.
  16. 16
    A leading thing.
  17. 17
    The crow of a cock, especially the first crow in the morning; cockcrow.
  18. 18
    A male fish, especially a salmon or trout.
  19. 19
    The style or gnomon of a sundial.
  20. 20
    The indicator of a balance.
  21. 21
    The bridge piece that affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch.

Etymology

From Middle English cok, from Old English coc, cocc (“cock, male bird”), from Proto-West Germanic *kokk, from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock”), probably of onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Middle Dutch cocke (“cock, male bird”) and Old Norse kokkr ("cock"; whence Danish kok (“cock”), dialectal Swedish kokk (“cock”)). Reinforced by Old French coc, from the same origin. The sense "penis" is attested since at least the 1610s, with the compound pillicock (“penis”) attested since 1325.

Synonyms

cockbirdroosterpenis

This word in other languages

mâle(Français)Männchen(Deutsch)pombo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccock,ccok,cocck,cockk,cokc,occk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccock1ccok2cocck1cockk1cokc2occk2
Edit distance from "cock"

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 "cock"?
"cock" is spelled C-O-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /kɒk/.
What does "cock" mean?
As a noun, "cock" means: A male bird, especially:
What words are commonly confused with "cock"?
"cock" is commonly confused with "cop", "con", "cow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cock"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cock" is /kɒk/. 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 "cock"?
From Middle English cok, from Old English coc, cocc (“cock, male bird”), from Proto-West Germanic *kokk, from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock”), probably of onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Middle Dutch cocke (“cock, male bird”) and Old Norse kokkr... 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 “cock”

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

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