eke

/iːk/

//iːk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“eke” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #45,352) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#45,352
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An addition.

Corpus desk

Index EN-eke · eke · English

eke · rank #45,352 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,352
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH elitism

Nearest frequency peer: elitism (+2 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 neighbours of confusable “eke”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “eke” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

eke vs ex
33% similar
eke vs et
33% similar
eke vs EU
0% similar

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

Key facts for eke
PropertyValue
Headwordeke
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/iːk/
Letters3
Frequency rank#45,352
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “eke”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ekelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “elitism” (#45,354), “elven” (#45,355), “earshot” (#45,348). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “eke” is #45,352. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for eke is neighbouring look-alikes ("ex", "et", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /iːk/. Frequency #45,352 among 2,246 “E” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for eke in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ex", "et", "EU", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English eke (“addition, increase, enlargement”), from Old English ēaca, from Proto-Germanic *aukô, from *aukaną (“to increase, add, enlarge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg- (“to enlarge, increase”). The English … The correct English form is eke, spelled E-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An addition.
  2. 2
    A small stand on which a beehive is placed.
  3. 3
    A spacer put between or over or under hive parts to make more space.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [T]hey [the Catholics and Puritans] encumbered their verſion [of the Bible] with a load of uſeleſs Italics; often without the leaſt neceſſity, and almoſt always to the detriment of the text. In fact, either the words in Italics are virtually implied in the Hebrew, or they are not. In the former caſe they are a real part of the text, and ſhould be printed…
  2. Various have been the contrivances for effecting the separation of storage and breeding departments in a hive. […] An empty box or hive, pushed beneath a full one, is denominated a Nadir,—a mode of practice not always advisable except in the case of swarms of the same year, or towards the latter end of very abundant seasons. A still smaller addition to a…

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English eke (“addition, increase, enlargement”), from Old English ēaca, from Proto-Germanic *aukô, from *aukaną (“to increase, add, enlarge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg- (“to enlarge, increase”). The English noun is cognate with Old Frisian āka (“addition, increase; bonus”), Old Norse auki (“growth, increase, proliferation”). The verb is derived partly: * from the noun; and * from Middle English eken (“to increase, add, enlarge”) [and other forms], from three distinct verbs (1) Old English īeċan (“to increase, add, enlarge”) (transitive), (2) ēacan (“to be enlarged or increased”), and (3) ēacian, all from Proto-Germanic *aukaną (“to grow, increase”); see further above. The English verb is cognate with Latin augeō (“to augment, increase; to enlarge, expand, spread; to lengthen; to exaggerate; to enrich; to honour; (figuratively) to exalt, praise”), Old English ēac (“also”), Old Norse auka (“to augment, increase; to add; to exceed, surpass”), Icelandic auka (“to augment, increase to add; to exceed, surpass”), (Danish øge (“to enhance; to increase”), Norwegian Bokmål øke (“to increase”), Norwegian Nynorsk auka (“to increase”), Swedish öka (“to increase”)).

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 "eke"?
"eke" is spelled E-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /iːk/.
What does "eke" mean?
As a noun, "eke" means: An addition.
What words are commonly confused with "eke"?
"eke" is commonly confused with "ex", "et", "EU". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "eke"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eke" is /iːk/. 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 "eke"?
The noun is derived from Middle English eke (“addition, increase, enlargement”), from Old English ēaca, from Proto-Germanic *aukô, from *aukaną (“to increase, add, enlarge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg- (“to enlarge, increase”). Th... 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 "eke", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

GCS#45,391GHG#45,396GoH#45,404hor#45,433

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list