guv
"guv" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“guv” is uncommon English (frequency #82,359 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #82,359
- frequency rank, English
- 2,313
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A form of address to a man, usually a stranger or a superior.
Corpus desk
Index EN-guv · guv · English
guv · rank #82,359 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #82,359
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,313
- PHOTO-FINISH gumshoe
Nearest frequency peer: gumshoe (-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 “guv”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Guilfoyle
Guilfoyle
17,646 corpus weight
- Guillen
Guillen
17,645 corpus weight
- gullibility
gullibility
17,644 corpus weight
- gumshoe
gumshoe
17,643 corpus weight
- guv
guv
17,642 corpus weight
- Hadar
Hadar
17,640 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “guv” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | guv |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #82,359 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “guv” in English
Rare enough to double-check
guv is uncommon English at frequency #82,359 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for guv, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Alternative phonetic spelling of gov, short for governor. The correct English form is guv, spelled G-U-V.
Definition
- 1A form of address to a man, usually a stranger or a superior.
- 2A male prison officer.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how guv appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Spare two quid, guv? I 'aven't eaten since yesterday.
Right away, guv... I mean, sarge.
Etymology
Alternative phonetic spelling of gov, short for governor.
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); 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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "guv", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).