harpoon

/hɑːɹˈpuːn/

//hɑːɹˈpuːn// noun

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

"harpoon" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“harpoon” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,748. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,748
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-harpoon · harpoon · English

harpoon · rank #35,748 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,748
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Hartmann

Nearest frequency peer: Hartmann (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “harpoon”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “harpoon” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

harpoon vs Harwood
57% similar
harpoon vs Harmon
57% similar
harpoon vs Hampton
57% similar

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

Key facts for harpoon
PropertyValue
Headwordharpoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɑːɹˈpuːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#35,748
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “harpoon”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).harpoonlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “Hartmann” (#35,749), “halogen” (#35,746), “Haydn” (#35,750). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “harpoon” is #35,748. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around harpoon (IPA /hɑːɹˈpuːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,748 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for harpoon, with forms such as "ahrpoon", "haproon", and "haropon". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Harwood", "Harmon", "Hampton", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a rare variant of Latin harpagō, from Ancient Greek ἁρπάγη (harpágē, “hook”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to snatch away, to carry off, to seize, to captivate”). Sense and spelling perhaps influenced by Dutch harpoen (… The correct English form is harpoon, spelled H-A-R-P-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.
  2. 2
    A sharp tip within a disposable syringe, used to penetrate the stopper.
  3. 3
    A harmonica.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana.

Etymology

From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a rare variant of Latin harpagō, from Ancient Greek ἁρπάγη (harpágē, “hook”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to snatch away, to carry off, to seize, to captivate”). Sense and spelling perhaps influenced by Dutch harpoen (“harpoon”). Doublet of harpagon.

This word in other languages

arpón(Español)harpon(Français)Harpune(Deutsch)arpão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahrpoon
  • haproon
  • haropon
  • harpon
  • harpono
  • harpoonn
  • harppoon
  • harrpoon
  • hharpoon
  • hrapoon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of harpoon - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ahrpoon2haproon2haropon2harpon1harpono2harpoonn1harppoon1harrpoon1
Edit distance from "harpoon"

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 "harpoon"?
"harpoon" is spelled H-A-R-P-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /hɑːɹˈpuːn/.
What does "harpoon" mean?
As a noun, "harpoon" means: A spearlike weapon with a barbed head used in hunting whales and large fish.
What words are commonly confused with "harpoon"?
"harpoon" is commonly confused with "Harwood", "Harmon", "Hampton". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "harpoon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "harpoon" is /hɑːɹˈpuːn/. 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 "harpoon"?
From Old French harpon, from Latin harpaga, a rare variant of Latin harpagō, from Ancient Greek ἁρπάγη (harpágē, “hook”), from ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to snatch away, to carry off, to seize, to captivate”). Sense and spelling perhaps influenced by Dutch... 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 "harpoon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

halogen#35,746haddock#35,745Greeley#35,741hypoxia#35,761

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Hartmann10 variantsGambino10 variantsepitaph10 variantsenslave10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list