dope

[dəʊp]

/[dəʊp]/ noun

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

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

The verdict

“dope” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,275. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,275
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any viscous liquid or paste, such as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dope · dope · English

dope · rank #8,275 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,275
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dome

Nearest frequency peer: dome (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “dope”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “dope” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

dope vs DP
0% similar
dope vs due
50% similar
dope vs dot
50% similar

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

Key facts for dope
PropertyValue
Headworddope
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[dəʊp]
Letters4
Frequency rank#8,275
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dope”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).dopelands 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 “dome” (#8,274), “drought” (#8,276), “ditch” (#8,273). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dope” is #8,275. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around dope (IPA [dəʊp]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,275 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for dope, with forms such as "ddope", "doep", and "doppe". 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, "DP", "due", "dot", 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 Dutch doop (“thick dipping sauce”), from Dutch dopen (“to dip”), from Middle Dutch dopen, from Old Dutch *dōpen, from Frankish *daupijan, from Proto-Germanic *daupijaną. “Doop” in the sense “narcotic drug” ultimately refers to viscous opium juice, the … The correct English form is dope, spelled D-O-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any viscous liquid or paste, such as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.
  2. 2
    An absorbent material used to hold a liquid.
  3. 3
    Any varnish used to coat a part, such as an airplane wing or a hot-air balloon in order to waterproof, strengthen, etc.
  4. 4
    Any of various recreational substances
  5. 5
    Any of various recreational substances:
  6. 6
    Any of various recreational substances:
  7. 7
    Information, usually from an inside source, originally in horse racing and other sports.
  8. 8
    Ballistic data on previously fired rounds, used to calculate the required hold over a target.
  9. 9
    A stupid person.
  10. 10
    Dessert topping.
  11. 11
    A soft drink.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Use a good pipe dope on the NPT threads. When applying pipe dope do not put any on the first two threads from the end. Always put dope on the male thread—never on the female thread.
  2. Do you remember me? / How we used to be / Helpless and happy and blind? / Sunk without hope / In a haze of good dope / And cheap wine?

Etymology

From Dutch doop (“thick dipping sauce”), from Dutch dopen (“to dip”), from Middle Dutch dopen, from Old Dutch *dōpen, from Frankish *daupijan, from Proto-Germanic *daupijaną. “Doop” in the sense “narcotic drug” ultimately refers to viscous opium juice, the drug of choice of the ancient Greeks; “insider information” perhaps from knowing which horse had been doped in a race. Sense of "stupid person" perhaps following from the drug sense (i.e. relating to those intoxicated on opium), compare dope up. Related to English dip and German taufen. Unrelated to dopamine.

This word in other languages

patine(Français)Schmiere(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddope
  • doep
  • doppe
  • dpoe
  • odpe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddope1doep2doppe1dpoe2odpe2
Edit distance from "dope"

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 "dope"?
"dope" is spelled D-O-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is [dəʊp].
What does "dope" mean?
As a noun, "dope" means: Any viscous liquid or paste, such as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.
What words are commonly confused with "dope"?
"dope" is commonly confused with "DP", "due", "dot". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dope"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dope" is [dəʊp]. 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 "dope"?
From Dutch doop (“thick dipping sauce”), from Dutch dopen (“to dip”), from Middle Dutch dopen, from Old Dutch *dōpen, from Frankish *daupijan, from Proto-Germanic *daupijaną. “Doop” in the sense “narcotic drug” ultimately refers to viscous opium j... 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 "dope", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

dome#8,274gosh#8,296yang#8,229wool#8,228

Similar misspelling depth

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

Quinn5 variantssung5 variantsrode5 variantsTory5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list