dope
[dəʊp]
"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 2, 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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “dope”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- discretion
discretion
91,729 corpus weight
- ditch
ditch
91,728 corpus weight
- dome
dome
91,727 corpus weight
- dope
dope
91,726 corpus weight
- drought
drought
91,725 corpus weight
- ducks
ducks
91,724 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “dope” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dope |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [dəʊp] |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #8,275 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dope” sits in English frequency
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
- 1Any viscous liquid or paste, such as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.
- 2An absorbent material used to hold a liquid.
- 3Any varnish used to coat a part, such as an airplane wing or a hot-air balloon in order to waterproof, strengthen, etc.
- 4Any of various recreational substances
- 5Any of various recreational substances:
- 6Any of various recreational substances:
- 7Information, usually from an inside source, originally in horse racing and other sports.
- 8Ballistic data on previously fired rounds, used to calculate the required hold over a target.
- 9A stupid person.
- 10Dessert topping.
- 11A soft drink.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dope appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
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.
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
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.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "dope"?
What does "dope" mean?
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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).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
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.