harvest

/ˈhɑɹ.vəst/

//ˈhɑɹ.vəst// noun

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

The verdict

“harvest” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,792 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,792
frequency rank, English
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The process of gathering the ripened crop; harvesting.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

harvest vs haves
71% similar
harvest vs Harvey
57% similar
harvest vs harvester
78% similar

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

Key facts for harvest
PropertyValue
Headwordharvest
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɑɹ.vəst/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,792
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “harvest” 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). harvest lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for harvest is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,792 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for harvest, with forms such as "ahrvest", "harevst", and "harrvest". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "haves", "Harvey", "harvester", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English harvest, hervest, from Old English hærfest (“autumn, harvest-time; August”), from Proto-West Germanic *harbist, from Proto-Germanic *harbistaz (“harvest-time, autumn, fall”), from *harbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kerp-. Cognates Cognat… The correct English form is harvest, spelled H-A-R-V-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The process of gathering the ripened crop; harvesting.
  2. 2
    The yield of harvesting, i.e., the gathered crops or fruits.
  3. 3
    The product or result of any exertion or course of action; reward or consequences.
  4. 4
    The season of gathering ripened crops; specifically, the time of reaping and gathering grain.
  5. 5
    The third season of the year; autumn; fall.
  6. 6
    A modern pagan ceremony held on or around the autumn equinox, which is in the harvesting season.

Etymology

From Middle English harvest, hervest, from Old English hærfest (“autumn, harvest-time; August”), from Proto-West Germanic *harbist, from Proto-Germanic *harbistaz (“harvest-time, autumn, fall”), from *harbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kerp-. Cognates Cognate with Sylt North Frisian Hārefst, West Frisian hjerst, Dutch herfst, German Herbst, dated German Low German Harvst, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål høst, Norwegian Nynorsk haust; further with Latin carpere (“to seize”), Ancient Greek καρπός (karpós, “fruit”), κείρω (keírō, “to cut off”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ahrvest,harevst,harrvest,harvesst,harvestt,harvets,harvset,harvvest,havrest,hharvest,hravest

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of harvest - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ahrvest2harevst2harrvest1harvesst1harvestt1harvets2harvset2harvvest1
Edit distance from "harvest"

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 "harvest"?
"harvest" is spelled H-A-R-V-E-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/.
What does "harvest" mean?
As a noun, "harvest" means: The process of gathering the ripened crop; harvesting.
What words are commonly confused with "harvest"?
"harvest" is commonly confused with "haves", "Harvey", "harvester". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "harvest"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "harvest" is /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/. 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 "harvest"?
From Middle English harvest, hervest, from Old English hærfest (“autumn, harvest-time; August”), from Proto-West Germanic *harbist, from Proto-Germanic *harbistaz (“harvest-time, autumn, fall”), from *harbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kerp-. Cogna... 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.

Using “harvest”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-A-R-V-E-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “haves” - see the side-by-side comparison. harvest vs haves
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list