grep
/ɡɹɛp/
"grep" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“grep” is uncommon English (frequency #83,303 among 18,276 “G” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #83,303
- frequency rank, English
- 18,276
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A program which selects lines in a file which match a given pattern.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | grep |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ɡɹɛp/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #83,303 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “grep” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
grep is uncommon English at frequency #83,303 among 18,276 “G” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ɡɹɛp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A program which selects lines in a file which match a given pattern.".
grep doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print. The correct English form is grep, spelled G-R-E-P.
Definition
- 1A program which selects lines in a file which match a given pattern.
Etymology
From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print.
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 “grep”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-E-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɹɛp/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.