gapes

/ɡeɪps/

//ɡeɪps// verb

"gapes" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gapes” is uncommon English (frequency #86,301 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,301
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - third-person singular simple present indicative of gape

Corpus desk

Index EN-gapes · gapes · English

gapes · rank #86,301 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,301
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gapped

Nearest frequency peer: gapped (+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 “gapes”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gapes
PropertyValue
Headwordgapes
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɡeɪps/
Letters5
Frequency rank#86,301
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gapes” in English

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).gapesfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “gapped” (#86,302), “garçon” (#86,304), “gastrectomy” (#86,305). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gapes” is #86,301. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gapes is uncommon English at frequency #86,301 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɡeɪps/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "third-person singular simple present indicative of gape".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gapes, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is gapes, spelled G-A-P-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    third-person singular simple present indicative of gape

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 "gapes"?
"gapes" is spelled G-A-P-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡeɪps/.
What does "gapes" mean?
As a verb, "gapes" means: third-person singular simple present indicative of gape
How do you pronounce "gapes"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gapes" is /ɡeɪps/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "gapes" come from?
"gapes" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "gapes", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list