grappling hook
/ˈɡɹæp(ə)lɪŋ ˌhʊk/
"grappling-hook" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“grappling hook” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A type of hook attached to a line and designed to be thrown at a target (e.g. rigging of an enemy ship) for the purpose of catching hold of it.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | grappling hook |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡɹæp(ə)lɪŋ ˌhʊk/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “grappling hook” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
grappling hook is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡɹæp(ə)lɪŋ ˌhʊk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A type of hook attached to a line and designed to be thrown at a target (e.g. rigging of an enemy ship) for the purpose of catching hold of it.".
Zero misspellings are on record for grappling hook in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is grappling hook, spelled G-R-A-P-P-L-I-N-G- -H-O-O-K.
Definition
- 1A type of hook attached to a line and designed to be thrown at a target (e.g. rigging of an enemy ship) for the purpose of catching hold of it.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "grappling hook"?
What does "grappling hook" mean?
How do you pronounce "grappling hook"?
What language does "grappling hook" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “grappling hook”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-A-P-P-L-I-N-G- -H-O-O-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡɹæp(ə)lɪŋ ˌhʊk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.