equip
/ɪˈkwɪp/
"equip" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“equip” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,943 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #14,943
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task; to provide with (e.g. weapons, provisions, munitions, rigging).
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 | equip |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪˈkwɪp/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #14,943 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “equip” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for equip is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈkwɪp/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,943 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for equip, with forms such as "eqiup", "eqquip", and "equipp". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "equity", "equal", "equine", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French équiper (“to supply, fit out”), originally said of a ship, Old French esquiper (“to embark”); of Germanic origin, most probably from Old Norse skipa (“to man (a ship)”), from Proto-Germanic *skipōną (“to ship, sail, embark”). Compare with Middle… The correct English form is equip, spelled E-Q-U-I-P.
Definition
- 1To supply with something necessary in order to carry out a specific action or task; to provide with (e.g. weapons, provisions, munitions, rigging).
- 2To dress up; to array; to clothe.
- 3To prepare (someone) with a skill.
- 4To equip oneself with (an item); to bring (equipment) into active use.
Etymology
From French équiper (“to supply, fit out”), originally said of a ship, Old French esquiper (“to embark”); of Germanic origin, most probably from Old Norse skipa (“to man (a ship)”), from Proto-Germanic *skipōną (“to ship, sail, embark”). Compare with Middle High German schipfen, German schiffern, Icelandic skipa, Old English scipian. Doublet of ship.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eqiup,eqquip,equipp,equpi,euqip,qeuip
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of equip - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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
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Using “equip”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-Q-U-I-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈkwɪp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “equity” - see the side-by-side comparison. equip vs equity
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.