head of state
/ˌhɛd əv ˈsteɪt/
"head-of-state" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“head of state” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The chief public representative of a nation having duties, privileges and responsibilities varying greatly depending on the constitutional rules; a monarch in a monarchy, and often styled president...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | head of state |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌhɛd əv ˈsteɪt/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “head of state” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
head of state is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhɛd əv ˈsteɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The chief public representative of a nation having duties, privileges and responsibilities varying greatly depending on the constitutional rules; a monarch in a monarchy, and often styled president...".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for head of state, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is head of state, spelled H-E-A-D- -O-F- -S-T-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1The chief public representative of a nation having duties, privileges and responsibilities varying greatly depending on the constitutional rules; a monarch in a monarchy, and often styled president in a republic, but variations such as collegiality exist.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “head of state”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-E-A-D- -O-F- -S-T-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌhɛd əv ˈsteɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.