hiatus
/haɪˈeɪtəs/
"hiatus" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hiatus” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,186 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,186
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A gap in a series, making it incomplete.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hiatus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /haɪˈeɪtəs/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #15,186 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hiatus” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hiatus is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /haɪˈeɪtəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,186 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for hiatus, with forms such as "haitus", "hhiatus", and "hiatsu". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "hits", "hints", "hats", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin hiātus (“opening”) (mid-16th century), from hiō (“stand open, yawn”). The correct English form is hiatus, spelled H-I-A-T-U-S.
Definition
- 1A gap in a series, making it incomplete.
- 2An interruption, break, pause or absence.
- 3An temporary break from work, especially one which is unexpected.
- 4A gap in geological strata.
- 5An opening in an organ.
- 6A syllable break between two vowels, without an intervening consonant.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin hiātus (“opening”) (mid-16th century), from hiō (“stand open, yawn”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: haitus,hhiatus,hiatsu,hiattus,hiatuss,hiauts,hitaus,ihatus
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hiatus - 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.
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
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Using “hiatus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-I-A-T-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /haɪˈeɪtəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “hits” - see the side-by-side comparison. hiatus vs hits
- 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.