heave-ho
/ˌhiv ˈhoʊ/
"heave-ho" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“heave-ho” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An exclamation used when pulling, especially by sailors while pulling on a rope.
Corpus desk
Index EN-heave-ho · heave-ho · English
heave-ho · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | heave-ho |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /ˌhiv ˈhoʊ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “heave-ho” in English
Rare enough to double-check
heave-ho is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /ˌhiv ˈhoʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An exclamation used when pulling, especially by sailors while pulling on a rope.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for heave-ho, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English have howe. The correct English form is heave-ho, spelled H-E-A-V-E---H-O.
Definition
- 1An exclamation used when pulling, especially by sailors while pulling on a rope.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how heave-ho appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Heave ho! up they hoisted their prize, dripping with moisture, and festooned with verdant water-moss.
Etymology
From Middle English have howe.
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.