cup

/kʌp/

//kʌp// noun

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

"cup" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cup” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #805) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#805
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A concave vessel for drinking, usually made of opaque material (as opposed to a glass) and with a handle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cup · cup · English

cup · rank #805 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #805
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chief

Nearest frequency peer: chief (-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 “cup”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cup” 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).

cup vs CV
0% similar
cup vs CW
0% similar
cup vs CX
0% similar

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

Key facts for cup
PropertyValue
Headwordcup
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kʌp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#805
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cup” 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).cuplands 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 “chief” (#804), “football” (#806), “character” (#803). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for cup is neighbouring look-alikes ("CV", "CW", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /kʌp/. Frequency #805 among 5,599 “C” headwords. 22 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

cup has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CV", "CW", "CX", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English cuppe, coppe, from the merger of Old English cuppe (“cup”) and Old English copp (“cup, vessel”). Old English cuppe is a borrowing from Late Latin cuppa, itself of obscure origin, but probably from earlier Latin cūpa (“tub, cask… The correct English form is cup, spelled C-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A concave vessel for drinking, usually made of opaque material (as opposed to a glass) and with a handle.
  2. 2
    The contents of said vessel.
  3. 3
    A customary unit of measure
  4. 4
    A customary unit of measure
  5. 5
    A customary unit of measure
  6. 6
    A customary unit of measure
  7. 7
    A trophy in the shape of an oversized cup.
  8. 8
    A contest for which a cup is awarded.
  9. 9
    The main knockout tournament in a country, organised alongside the league.
  10. 10
    A cup-shaped object placed in the target hole.
  11. 11
    A container in which dice are held and shaken before being thrown.
  12. 12
    Any of various sweetened alcoholic drinks.
  13. 13
    A rigid concave protective covering for the male genitalia.
  14. 14
    One of the two parts of a brassiere which each cover a breast.
  15. 15
    One of the two parts of a brassiere which each cover a breast.
  16. 16
    The symbol ∪ denoting union and similar operations.
  17. 17
    A suit of the minor arcana in tarot, or one of the cards from the suit.
  18. 18
    A defensive style characterized by a three player near defense cupping the thrower; or those three players.
  19. 19
    A flexible concave membrane used to temporarily attach a handle or hook to a flat surface by means of suction.
  20. 20
    Anything shaped like a cup.
  21. 21
    A cupping glass or other vessel or instrument used to produce the vacuum in cupping.
  22. 22
    That which is to be received or indured; that which is allotted to one; a portion of blessings and afflictions.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Pour the tea into the cup.
  2. I drank two cups of water but still felt thirsty.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English cuppe, coppe, from the merger of Old English cuppe (“cup”) and Old English copp (“cup, vessel”). Old English cuppe is a borrowing from Late Latin cuppa, itself of obscure origin, but probably from earlier Latin cūpa (“tub, cask”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewp- (“a hollow”). Old English copp, however, is from Proto-West Germanic *kopp (“round object, bowl, vessel, knoll, summit, crown of the head”), from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, arch”) (whence also obsolete English cop (“top, summit, crown of the head”), German Kopf (“top, head”)). The Middle English word was further reinforced by Anglo-Norman cupe and Old French cope, coupe, from Latin cuppa. Compare also Saterland Frisian Kop (“cup”), West Frisian kop (“cup”), Dutch kop (“cup”), German Low German Koppke, Köppke (“cup”), Danish kop (“cup”), Swedish kopp (“cup”). Doublet of coupe, hive, and keeve.

This word in other languages

taza(Español)tasse(Français)Tasse(Deutsch)xícara(Português)

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 "cup"?
"cup" is spelled C-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /kʌp/.
What does "cup" mean?
As a noun, "cup" means: A concave vessel for drinking, usually made of opaque material (as opposed to a glass) and with a handle.
What words are commonly confused with "cup"?
"cup" is commonly confused with "CV", "CW", "CX". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cup" is /kʌp/. 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 "cup"?
Inherited from Middle English cuppe, coppe, from the merger of Old English cuppe (“cup”) and Old English copp (“cup, vessel”). Old English cuppe is a borrowing from Late Latin cuppa, itself of obscure origin, but probably from earlier Latin cūpa (... 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 "cup", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

LED#810mom#789key#788hey#787

What to do next

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

  • "cup" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CV". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #805 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