headline

/ˈhɛd.laɪn/

//ˈhɛd.laɪn// noun

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

"headline" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“headline” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,793. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,793
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The heading or title of a magazine or newspaper article.

Corpus desk

Index EN-headline · headline · English

headline · rank #6,793 · 11 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,793
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH harvest

Nearest frequency peer: harvest (-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 “headline”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “headline” 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).

headline vs healing
75% similar
headline vs helpline
75% similar
headline vs headlong
75% similar

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

Key facts for headline
PropertyValue
Headwordheadline
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɛd.laɪn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#6,793
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “headline”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).headlinelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “harvest” (#6,792), “Hudson” (#6,794), “Harold” (#6,791). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “headline” is #6,793. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around headline (IPA /ˈhɛd.laɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,793 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for headline, with forms such as "ehadline", "haedline", and "headdline". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "healing", "helpline", "headlong", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From head + line. The correct English form is headline, spelled H-E-A-D-L-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The heading or title of a magazine or newspaper article.
  2. 2
    The line at the top of a page containing the folio or number of the page.
  3. 3
    The top-billed attraction.
  4. 4
    A headrope.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The headline on today's newspaper reads "John Doe Wins Wood-Splitting Competition."
  2. Say that you'll never, never, never, never need it One headline, why believe it? Everybody wants to rule the world

Etymology

From head + line.

This word in other languages

titular(Español)titre(Français)Schlagzeile(Deutsch)manchete(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehadline
  • haedline
  • headdline
  • headilne
  • headlien
  • headlinne
  • headlline
  • headlnie
  • healdine
  • hedaline
  • hheadline

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of headline - 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.

ehadline2haedline2headdline1headilne2headlien2headlinne1headlline1headlnie2
Edit distance from "headline"

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 "headline"?
"headline" is spelled H-E-A-D-L-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɛd.laɪn/.
What does "headline" mean?
As a noun, "headline" means: The heading or title of a magazine or newspaper article.
What words are commonly confused with "headline"?
"headline" is commonly confused with "healing", "helpline", "headlong". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "headline"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "headline" is /ˈhɛd.laɪn/. 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 "headline"?
From head + line. 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 "headline", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

elevated#6,783Nicholas#6,815cannabis#6,768Phillips#6,820

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

harvest11 variantscrushed11 variantsBristol11 variantsanalyst11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list