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” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,839. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,839
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male bird, especially:

Corpus desk

Index EN-cock · cock · English

cock · rank #4,839 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,839
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coalition

Nearest frequency peer: coalition (-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 neighbourhood for “cock”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cock” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

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

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).cocklands 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 “coalition” (#4,838), “complain” (#4,840), “civilian” (#4,837). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cock (IPA /kɒk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,839 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 21 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The liquor is discharged from the cock S into liquor cans V […], from which it is transferred to the sugar in the moulds. W represents one of the traps or stairs which communicate with respective floors of the sugarhouse.
  2. She doesn't see his cock, but she doesn't want to, what's the point, right?

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

chef#4,835Emma#4,853Greg#4,859palm#4,876

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

hosts6 variantsterry6 variantsMario6 variantspussy6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "cock". Here's where to go from here.

  • "cock" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "cop". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,839 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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