dike
/daɪk/noun, verb
dike is spelled D-I-K-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “dike vs dyke” about 60 times a month (Bing, United States). As a noun, dike means “US standard spelling of dyke” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dike is dikes.
How many letters and syllables are in dike?
| Letters | 4: D-I-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,912th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dike?
Dike appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dike?
- US /daɪk/
Dike has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-dike.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with dike
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with dike?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dike from its last stressed vowel (/aɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dike
- dikes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- diking participle, present
- diked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dike mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USUS standard spelling of dyke.
- 2
Alternative form of deck: (US dialect slang, obsolete) A well-dressed man.
- 3
USobsoleteslangFormalwear or other fashionable dress.
- 4
Alternative form of dyke, Alternative form of deck: (slang, usually derogatory) a masculine woman; a lesbian.
- 5
slangContraction of diagonal cutters.
verb
- 1
slangTo cut or remove using dikes.
- 2
USUS standard spelling of dyke.
- 3
USobsoleteslangTo be well dressed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does dike come from?
From Northern Middle English dik and dike (“ditch”), from Old Norse díki (“ditch”). Influenced by Middle Dutch dijc (“ditch; dam”) and Middle Low German dīk (“dam”). See also ditch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).