haste

/heɪst/

//heɪst// noun

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

"haste" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“haste” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,853. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,853
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Speed; swiftness; dispatch.

Corpus desk

Index EN-haste · haste · English

haste · rank #17,853 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,853
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hauling

Nearest frequency peer: hauling (+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 “haste”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “haste” 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).

haste vs hat
60% similar
haste vs hse
60% similar
haste vs have
60% similar

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

Key facts for haste
PropertyValue
Headwordhaste
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/heɪst/
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,853
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “haste”

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).hastelands 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 “hauling” (#17,854), “Hanover” (#17,851), “Heathrow” (#17,855). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “haste” is #17,853. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around haste (IPA /heɪst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,853 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for haste, with forms such as "ahste", "haset", and "hasste". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hat", "hse", "have", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Blend of Middle English hasten (verb), (compare Dutch haasten, German hasten, Danish haste, Swedish hasta (“to hasten, rush”)) and Middle English hast (“haste”, noun), from Old French haste (whence French hâte), from Old Frankish *hai(f)st (“violence”), fro… The correct English form is haste, spelled H-A-S-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Speed; swiftness; dispatch.
  2. 2
    Urgency; sudden excitement of feeling or passion; precipitance; vehemence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We were running late so we finished our meal in haste.
  2. The king's business required haste.

Etymology

Blend of Middle English hasten (verb), (compare Dutch haasten, German hasten, Danish haste, Swedish hasta (“to hasten, rush”)) and Middle English hast (“haste”, noun), from Old French haste (whence French hâte), from Old Frankish *hai(f)st (“violence”), from Proto-Germanic *haifstiz (“struggle, conflict”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeyp- (“to ridicule, mock, anger”). Akin to Old Frisian hāst, hāste (“haste”), Old English hǣst (“violence”), Old English hǣste (“violent, impetuous, vehement”, adjective), Old Norse heift /heipt (“feud”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃𐍄𐍃 (haifsts, “rivalry”). Cognate with German heftig (“vehement”) and Danish heftig (“vehement”).

This word in other languages

prisa(Español)hâte(Français)Eile(Deutsch)pressa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahste
  • haset
  • hasste
  • hastte
  • hhaste
  • hsate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ahste2haset2hasste1hastte1hhaste1hsate2
Edit distance from "haste"

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 "haste"?
"haste" is spelled H-A-S-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /heɪst/.
What does "haste" mean?
As a noun, "haste" means: Speed; swiftness; dispatch.
What words are commonly confused with "haste"?
"haste" is commonly confused with "hat", "hse", "have". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "haste"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "haste" is /heɪst/. 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 "haste"?
Blend of Middle English hasten (verb), (compare Dutch haasten, German hasten, Danish haste, Swedish hasta (“to hasten, rush”)) and Middle English hast (“haste”, noun), from Old French haste (whence French hâte), from Old Frankish *hai(f)st (“viole... 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 "haste", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Jolie#17,876judas#17,877kinky#17,881Dixie#17,823

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Hyun6 variantsdyke6 variantsLenny6 variantscrore6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list