heap

/hiːp/

//hiːp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“heap” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,170 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,170
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

heap vs HP
0% similar
heap vs her
50% similar
heap vs hey
50% similar

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

Key facts for heap
PropertyValue
Headwordheap
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hiːp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#13,170
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “heap” 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). heap 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 heap is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /hiːp/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,170 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for heap, with forms such as "ehap", "haep", and "heapp". 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, "HP", "her", "hey", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hepe, from Old English hēap, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (compare Dutch hoop, German Low German Hupen, German Haufen), from Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”) (compare Lithuanian kaũpas, Albanian qipi (“… The correct English form is heap, spelled H-E-A-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people.
  2. 2
    A pile or mass; a collection of things laid in a body, or thrown together so as to form an elevation.
  3. 3
    A great number or large quantity of things.
  4. 4
    A data structure consisting of trees in which each node is greater than all its children.
  5. 5
    Memory that is dynamically allocated.
  6. 6
    A dilapidated place or vehicle.
  7. 7
    A lot, a large amount

Etymology

From Middle English hepe, from Old English hēap, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (compare Dutch hoop, German Low German Hupen, German Haufen), from Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”) (compare Lithuanian kaũpas, Albanian qipi (“stack”), Avestan 𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀 (kåfa)).

This word in other languages

pila(Español)tas(Français)Menschenmenge(Deutsch)multidão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ehap,haep,heapp,hepa,hheap

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ehap2haep2heapp1hepa2hheap1
Edit distance from "heap"

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 "heap"?
"heap" is spelled H-E-A-P. The IPA pronunciation is /hiːp/.
What does "heap" mean?
As a noun, "heap" means: A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people.
What words are commonly confused with "heap"?
"heap" is commonly confused with "HP", "her", "hey". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heap"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heap" is /hiːp/. 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 "heap"?
From Middle English hepe, from Old English hēap, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (compare Dutch hoop, German Low German Hupen, German Haufen), from Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”) (compare Lithuanian kaũpas, Albani... 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 “heap”

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

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