eke
/ik/noun, verb
eke is spelled E-K-E: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “eek vs eke” about 70 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, eke means “An addition” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of eke is ekes.
How many letters and syllables are in eke?
| Letters | 3: E-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is eke?
Eke appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce eke?
- UK /iːk/
- US /ik/
Eke has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-eke.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with eke
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: eek (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: eek.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with eke?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as eke from its last stressed vowel (/ik/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kee, eek.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of eke
- ekes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- eking participle, present
- ekeing participle, present
- eked participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does eke mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An addition.
- 2
archaicA small stand on which a beehive is placed.
- 3
A spacer put between or over or under hive parts to make more space.
verb
- 1
Chiefly in the form eke out: to add to, to augment; to increase; to lengthen.
adverb
- 1
archaicAlso; in addition to.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Eke in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to add to, augment; to increase; to lengthen:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | auger, incrementar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does eke come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).