dux

/dʌks/

//dʌks// noun

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

"dux" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dux” is uncommon English (frequency #65,079 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,079
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The top (male or female) academic student in a school, or in a year of school; the top student in a specified academic discipline.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dux · dux · English

dux · rank #65,079 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,079
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Durden

Nearest frequency peer: Durden (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “dux”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dux” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dux
PropertyValue
Headworddux
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dʌks/
Letters3
Frequency rank#65,079
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dux” in English

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).duxfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Durden” (#65,078), “ecclesia” (#65,081), “Dunstable” (#65,076). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dux” is #65,079. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dux is uncommon English at frequency #65,079 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dʌks/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dux, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin dux (“leader”). Doublet of doge, duc, duce, and duke. The correct English form is dux, spelled D-U-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    The top (male or female) academic student in a school, or in a year of school; the top student in a specified academic discipline.
  2. 2
    A high-ranking commander in the Roman army, responsible for more than one legion.
  3. 3
    The subject of a fugue, answered by the comes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […]on the motion of Sir John Marjoribanks, Bart., Lord Provost, unanimously resolved, July 27, 1814, “that there be annually presented by the town of Edinburgh to the boy at the head of the Greek class, taught by the rector of the High School, a gold medal of the same value [five guineas] as that annually presented to the dux of the Latin class.”
  2. He finished the year dux of Form III with an average 90 per cent over eight subjects. The school did not award end-of-year marks in fourth and fifth forms, but Evans’ report for those years shows he passed all subjects in both years and was again dux in Form V.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dux (“leader”). Doublet of doge, duc, duce, and duke.

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 "dux"?
"dux" is spelled D-U-X. The IPA pronunciation is /dʌks/.
What does "dux" mean?
As a noun, "dux" means: The top (male or female) academic student in a school, or in a year of school; the top student in a specified academic discipline.
How do you pronounce "dux"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dux" is /dʌks/. 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 "dux"?
Borrowed from Latin dux (“leader”). Doublet of doge, duc, duce, and duke. 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 "dux", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

DTI#65,072erk#65,096ern#65,097cwm#65,030

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list