ham

/ˈhæm/

//ˈhæm// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ham" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ham” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #5,885) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#5,885
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ham · ham · English

ham · rank #5,885 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,885
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH governing

Nearest frequency peer: governing (-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 “ham”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ham” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ham vs he
33% similar
ham vs hi
33% similar
ham vs HD
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ham
PropertyValue
Headwordham
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhæm/
Letters3
Frequency rank#5,885
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ham” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ham lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ham is neighbouring look-alikes ("he", "hi", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈhæm/. Frequency #5,885 among 2,646 “H” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ham, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "he", "hi", "HD", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-West Germanic *hammu, from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”). Cognate with Dutch ham (“ham”), dialect… The correct English form is ham, spelled H-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
  2. 2
    A thigh and/or buttock of a hog slaughtered for meat; (occasionally) the corresponding cut from some other animal.
  3. 3
    Meat from the thigh and/or buttock of a hog cured for food.
  4. 4
    The back of the thigh of humans or certain other animals.
  5. 5
    Electronic mail that is wanted; email that is not spam or junk mail.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ham appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "I'll have you so your hams will stand out like horse's shanks!" de declared.
  2. a little piece of ham for the cat

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-West Germanic *hammu, from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”). Cognate with Dutch ham (“ham”), dialectal German Hamme (“hind part of the knee, ham”), dialectal Swedish ham (“the hind part of the knee”), Icelandic höm (“the ham or haunch of a horse”), Old Irish cnáim (“bone”), Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “shinbone”). Compare gammon and gam.

This word in other languages

corva(Español)jambon(Français)Kniekehle(Deutsch)pernil(Português)

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

How do you spell "ham"?
"ham" is spelled H-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhæm/.
What does "ham" mean?
As a noun, "ham" means: The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
What words are commonly confused with "ham"?
"ham" is commonly confused with "he", "hi", "HD". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ham"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ham" is /ˈhæm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ham"?
Inherited from Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-West Germanic *hammu, from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”). Cognate with Dutch ham (“ham”... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 "ham", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

iOS#5,888rap#5,907rev#5,912ace#5,930

What to do next

You've looked up "ham". Here's where to go from here.

  • "ham" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "he". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #5,885 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "H" letter cohort. H–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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list