deep

Name: deep, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/diːp/

//diːp// adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“deep” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #945) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#945
frequency rank, English: 3,470
“D” headwords: 4
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deep · deep · English

deep · rank #945 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

FREQ-CORE #945
LEN-MID 4 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
VAR-LOW 4 variants
BOOK-MID 3,470
PHOTO-FINISH created

Nearest frequency peer: created (-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.

base

99,059
below

99,058
created

99,057
deep

99,056
followed

99,055
LA

99,054

What this shows Bars place “deep” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

deep vs DP

0% similar

deep vs due

50% similar

deep vs die

50% similar

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

Key facts for deep
Property	Value
Headword	deep
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/diːp/
Letters	4
Frequency rank	#945
Misspellings tracked	4
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “deep”

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).deeplands here:

#945

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “created” (#944), “followed” (#946), “below” (#943). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “deep” is #945. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for deep is neighbouring look-alikes ("DP", "due", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /diːp/. Frequency #945 among 3,470 “D” headwords. 20 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for deep, with forms such as "ddeep", "deepp", and "depe". 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, "DP", "due", "die", 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 depe, deep, dep, deop, from Old English dēop (“deep, profound; awful, mysterious; heinous; serious, solemn, earnest; extreme, great”), from Proto-West Germanic *deup, from Proto-Germanic *deupaz (“deep”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ… The correct English form is deep, spelled D-E-E-P.

Definition

1
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
2
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
3
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
4
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
5
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
6
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
7
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
8
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
9
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
10
Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
11
Complex, involved.
12
Complex, involved.
13
Complex, involved.
14
Complex, involved.
15
Complex, involved.
16
Low in pitch.
17
Highly saturated; rich.
18
Sound, heavy (describing a state of sleep from which one is not easily awoken).
19
Muddy; boggy; sandy; said of roads.
20
Distant in the past, ancient.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

The lake is extremely deep.
We hiked into a deep valley between tall mountains.

Etymology

From Middle English depe, deep, dep, deop, from Old English dēop (“deep, profound; awful, mysterious; heinous; serious, solemn, earnest; extreme, great”), from Proto-West Germanic *deup, from Proto-Germanic *deupaz (“deep”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-nós, from *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”). Cognates Cognate with Scots depe (“deep”), North Frisian diip, jip (“deep”), Saterland Frisian djoop (“deep”), West Frisian djip (“deep”), Alemannic German tüüf (“deep”), Central Franconian deef, deep (“deep”), Dutch diep (“deep”), German tief (“deep”), Luxembourgish déif (“deep”), Mòcheno tiaf (“deep”), Vilamovian tif, tīf, tiif (“deep”), Yiddish טיף (tif, “deep”), Danish dyb (“deep”), Faroese, Icelandic djúpur (“deep”), Norwegian Bokmål djup, dyp (“deep”), Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish djup (“deep”), Scanian djyber (“deep”), Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐌿𐍀𐍃 (diups, “deep”), Lithuanian dubùs (“deep, hollow”), Albanian det (“sea”), Welsh dwfn (“deep”).

Synonyms

heavy meaningful profound thick great large voluminous lowlow-pitchedbright rich vivid fast heavy deep

Antonyms

shallow frivolous light shallow superficial shallow shallow thin shallow small high high-pitched piping light paledesaturatedwashed-out light tall

This word in other languages

profundo(Español)profond(Français)tief(Deutsch)fundo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ddeep
deepp
depe
edep

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "deep"

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 "deep"?

"deep" is spelled D-E-E-P. The IPA pronunciation is /diːp/.

What does "deep" mean?

As an adjective, "deep" means: Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

What words are commonly confused with "deep"?

"deep" is commonly confused with "DP", "due", "die". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "deep"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deep" is /diːp/. 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 "deep"?

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 "deep", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

base#942 mark#949 ways#939 pass#952