cork

/kɔɹk/

//kɔɹk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cork” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,007. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,007
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cork · cork · English

cork · rank #11,007 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,007
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH convoy

Nearest frequency peer: convoy (-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 “cork”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cork” 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).

cork vs CR
0% similar
cork vs cry
50% similar
cork vs cow
50% similar

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

Key facts for cork
PropertyValue
Headwordcork
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɔɹk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#11,007
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cork” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).corklands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “convoy” (#11,006), “cosmetic” (#11,008), “cubic” (#11,009). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cork (IPA /kɔɹk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,007 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cork, with forms such as "ccork", "cokr", and "corkk". 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, "CR", "cry", "cow", 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 cork (“oak bark, cork”), from Middle Dutch curc (“cork (material or object)”), either from Spanish corcho (“cork (material or object)”) (also corcha or corche) or from Old Spanish alcorque (“cork sole”). Doublet of cortex. The correct English form is cork, spelled C-O-R-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.
  2. 2
    The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.
  3. 3
    A bottle stopper made from this or any other material.
  4. 4
    An angling float, also traditionally made of oak cork.
  5. 5
    The cork oak, Quercus suber.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I confess my confidence was shaken by these actions, though I knew well enough that his leg was no more cork than my own
  2. Because cork is porous, it expands and contracts with changes in humidity.

Etymology

From Middle English cork (“oak bark, cork”), from Middle Dutch curc (“cork (material or object)”), either from Spanish corcho (“cork (material or object)”) (also corcha or corche) or from Old Spanish alcorque (“cork sole”). Doublet of cortex.

This word in other languages

corcho(Español)liège(Français)Kork(Deutsch)cortiça(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccork
  • cokr
  • corkk
  • corrk
  • crok
  • ocrk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cork - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccork1cokr2corkk1corrk1crok2ocrk2
Edit distance from "cork"

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 "cork"?
"cork" is spelled C-O-R-K. The IPA pronunciation is /kɔɹk/.
What does "cork" mean?
As a noun, "cork" means: The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.
What words are commonly confused with "cork"?
"cork" is commonly confused with "CR", "cry", "cow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cork"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cork" is /kɔɹk/. 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 "cork"?
From Middle English cork (“oak bark, cork”), from Middle Dutch curc (“cork (material or object)”), either from Spanish corcho (“cork (material or object)”) (also corcha or corche) or from Old Spanish alcorque (“cork sole”). Doublet of cortex. 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 "cork", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

capt#10,998calf#10,996beck#10,989fest#11,031

Similar misspelling depth

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

ebook6 variantsfills6 variantsfunk6 variantsample6 variants

What to do next

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

  • "cork" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CR". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #11,007 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