flask
/ˈflɑːsk/
"flask" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“flask” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,379. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #22,379
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A narrow-necked vessel of metal or glass, used for various purposes; as of sheet metal, to carry gunpowder in; or of wrought iron, to contain quicksilver; or of glass, to heat water in, etc.
Corpus desk
Index EN-flask · flask · English
flask · rank #22,379 · 8 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #22,379
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH flaps
Nearest frequency peer: flaps (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “flask”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Fidel
Fidel
77,626 corpus weight
- fireman
fireman
77,624 corpus weight
- flaps
flaps
77,623 corpus weight
- flask
flask
77,622 corpus weight
- fluff
fluff
77,621 corpus weight
- fondly
fondly
77,620 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “flask” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | flask |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈflɑːsk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #22,379 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “flask” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around flask (IPA /ˈflɑːsk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,379 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for flask, with forms such as "falsk", "fflask", and "flaks". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "flat", "flaw", "flax", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English flask, flaske (“case, cask, keg”), from Old English flasce, flaxe (“bottle, flask”) and Medieval Latin flascō (“bottle”); from Frankish *flaskā; both from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“braid-covered bottle, wicker-enclosed jug”), from Proto-I… The correct English form is flask, spelled F-L-A-S-K.
Definition
- 1A narrow-necked vessel of metal or glass, used for various purposes; as of sheet metal, to carry gunpowder in; or of wrought iron, to contain quicksilver; or of glass, to heat water in, etc.
- 2A container used to discreetly carry a small amount of a hard alcoholic beverage; a pocket flask.
- 3Laboratory glassware used to hold larger volumes than test tubes, normally having a narrow mouth of a standard size which widens to a flat or spherical base.
- 4A container for holding a casting mold, especially for sand casting molds.
- 5A bed in a gun carriage.
- 6A nuclear flask, a large, secure lead-lined container for the transport of nuclear material.
- 7A small bottle of liquor.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how flask appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Over the years, the railway has been the safest way to move hazardous chemicals, radioactive waste, fuel for Royal Navy nuclear submarines and imported fuel for reprocessing, as well as flasks containing fuel rods to and from British power stations.
Etymology
From Middle English flask, flaske (“case, cask, keg”), from Old English flasce, flaxe (“bottle, flask”) and Medieval Latin flascō (“bottle”); from Frankish *flaskā; both from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“braid-covered bottle, wicker-enclosed jug”), from Proto-Indo-European *ploḱ-skō (“flat”), or from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to weave”). Doublet of fiasco, flacon, and flagon. Related to Dutch fles; also German Low German Flaske, Fless, German Flasche, Danish flaske; also Lithuanian plókščias, Czech ploský, Albanian flashkët. The sense “laboratory glassware” is from Italian fiasco, and the sense “container for holding a casting mold” is from Middle French flasque (“powder flask”), itself from Old Spanish flasco, frasco, both from Late Latin above.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- falsk
- fflask
- flaks
- flaskk
- flassk
- fllask
- flsak
- lfask
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flask - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flask", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "flask". Here's where to go from here.
- "flask" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "flat". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #22,379 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.