dusk

/dʌsk/

//dʌsk// adj

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

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

The verdict

“dusk” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,221. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,221
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tending to darkness or blackness; moderately dark or black; dusky.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dusk · dusk · English

dusk · rank #16,221 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,221
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH duly

Nearest frequency peer: duly (-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 “dusk”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dusk” 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).

dusk vs duty
50% similar
dusk vs dust
75% similar
dusk vs dusty
60% similar

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

Key facts for dusk
PropertyValue
Headworddusk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/dʌsk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#16,221
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dusk”

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).dusklands 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 “duly” (#16,220), “edits” (#16,222), “downing” (#16,219). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dusk” is #16,221. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around dusk (IPA /dʌsk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #16,221 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Tending to darkness or blackness; moderately dark or black; dusky.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for dusk, with forms such as "ddusk", "dsuk", and "duks". 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, "duty", "dust", "dusty", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dosk, dusk(e) (“dusky”, adj.), from Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”), from Proto-Germanic *duskaz (“dark, smoky”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwes-, related to *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, mist, haze”). Cognate to Latin fuscus (“dark, dusky”), San… The correct English form is dusk, spelled D-U-S-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tending to darkness or blackness; moderately dark or black; dusky.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. A pathless desert, dusk with horrid shades.

Etymology

From Middle English dosk, dusk(e) (“dusky”, adj.), from Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”), from Proto-Germanic *duskaz (“dark, smoky”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwes-, related to *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, mist, haze”). Cognate to Latin fuscus (“dark, dusky”), Sanskrit धूसर (dhūsara, “dust-colored”), Old Irish donn (“dark”). Related to dye, dust and dun (see these for more).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddusk
  • dsuk
  • duks
  • duskk
  • dussk
  • udsk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddusk1dsuk2duks2duskk1dussk1udsk2
Edit distance from "dusk"

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 "dusk"?
"dusk" is spelled D-U-S-K. The IPA pronunciation is /dʌsk/.
What does "dusk" mean?
As an adjective, "dusk" means: Tending to darkness or blackness; moderately dark or black; dusky.
What words are commonly confused with "dusk"?
"dusk" is commonly confused with "duty", "dust", "dusty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dusk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dusk" is /dʌsk/. 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 "dusk"?
From Middle English dosk, dusk(e) (“dusky”, adj.), from Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”), from Proto-Germanic *duskaz (“dark, smoky”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwes-, related to *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, mist, haze”). Cognate to Latin fuscus (“dark, du... 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 "dusk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

duly#16,220Dani#16,208daft#16,207gran#16,245

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Heidi6 variantsCarla6 variantsjams6 variantsJoe's6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list