head

/ˈhɛd/

//ˈhɛd// noun

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

"head" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“head” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #288. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#288
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

Corpus desk

Index EN-head · head · English

head · rank #288 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #288
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 23,837
  • PHOTO-FINISH call

Nearest frequency peer: call (-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 “head”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “head” 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 May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

head vs her
50% similar
head vs hey
50% similar
head vs hes
50% similar

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

Key facts for head
PropertyValue
Headwordhead
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɛd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#288
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “head” 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). head lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around head (IPA /ˈhɛd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #288 among 23,837 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 59 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for head, with forms such as "ehad", "haed", and "headd". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "her", "hey", "hes", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput- Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head From Middle English hed heed, from Old English hēafd-, hēafod (“head, top, chief”), from Proto-West Germanic *ha… The correct English form is head, spelled H-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  2. 2
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  3. 3
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  4. 4
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  5. 5
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  6. 6
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  7. 7
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  8. 8
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  9. 9
    The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
  10. 10
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  11. 11
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  12. 12
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  13. 13
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  14. 14
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  15. 15
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  16. 16
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  17. 17
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  18. 18
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  19. 19
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  20. 20
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  21. 21
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  22. 22
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  23. 23
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  24. 24
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  25. 25
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  26. 26
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  27. 27
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  28. 28
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  29. 29
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  30. 30
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  31. 31
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  32. 32
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  33. 33
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  34. 34
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  35. 35
    The topmost, foremost, or leading part.
  36. 36
    A leader or expert.
  37. 37
    A leader or expert.
  38. 38
    A leader or expert.
  39. 39
    A leader or expert.
  40. 40
    A significant or important part.
  41. 41
    A significant or important part.
  42. 42
    A significant or important part.
  43. 43
    A significant or important part.
  44. 44
    A significant or important part.
  45. 45
    A significant or important part.
  46. 46
    A significant or important part.
  47. 47
    A significant or important part.
  48. 48
    A significant or important part.
  49. 49
    A significant or important part.
  50. 50
    Headway; progress.
  51. 51
    Topic; subject.
  52. 52
    Denouement; crisis.
  53. 53
    Pressure and energy.
  54. 54
    Pressure and energy.
  55. 55
    Pressure and energy.
  56. 56
    Fellatio or cunnilingus; oral sex.
  57. 57
    The glans penis.
  58. 58
    A heavy or habitual user of illicit drugs.
  59. 59
    Power; armed force.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Be careful when you pet that dog on the head; it may bite.
  2. Afore we got to the shanty Colonel Applegate stuck his head out of the door. His temper had been getting raggeder all the time, and the sousing he got when he fell overboard had just about ripped what was left of it to ravellings.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput- Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head From Middle English hed heed, from Old English hēafd-, hēafod (“head, top, chief”), from Proto-West Germanic *haubud, from Proto-Germanic *haubudą (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *káput. The modern word comes from Old English oblique stem hēafd-; the expected Modern English outcome for hēafod would be *heaved (similar to the Middle English word). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, chef, chief, and Howth. Cognate with Old English hafela (“head”), Scots heid, hede, hevid, heved (“head”), North Frisian hood (“head”), Dutch hoofd (“head”), German Haupt (“head”), Danish hoved (“head”), Faroese høvd, høvur (“head”), Icelandic höfuð (“head”), Norn heved (“head”), Norwegian hode (“head”), hoved- (“head, chief, main, principal”), Swedish huvud (“head”), Latin caput (“head”), Hindi कपाल (kapāl, “skull”), Sanskrit कपाल (kapāla, “skull”).

Synonyms

beanbeanerbelfryblockboncebrainboxbrain bucketdomeheadloaflollynappernoodlenoddlenogginnutsconceskull

This word in other languages

cabeza(Español)tête(Français)Kopf(Deutsch)cabeça(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehad
  • haed
  • headd
  • heda
  • hhead

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ehad2haed2headd1heda2hhead1
Edit distance from "head"

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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "head"?
"head" is spelled H-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɛd/.
What does "head" mean?
As a noun, "head" means: The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.
What words are commonly confused with "head"?
"head" is commonly confused with "her", "hey", "hes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "head"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "head" is /ˈhɛd/. 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 "head"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput- Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head From Middle English hed heed, from Old English hēafd-, hēafod (“head, top, chief”), from Proto-West Ge... 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 "head", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

call#287took#292stop#283came#294

Similar misspelling depth

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

side5 variantsonce5 variantsfour5 variantslater5 variants
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