hickory
/ˈhɪkəɹiː/
"hickory" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hickory” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,781 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #24,781
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various deciduous hardwood trees of the genera Carya and Annamocarya, one species of which, Carya illinoinensis, is the source of pecan nuts.
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 | hickory |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhɪkəɹiː/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #24,781 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hickory” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hickory is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhɪkəɹiː/. Corpus data places it at rank #24,781 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for hickory, with forms such as "hcikory", "hhickory", and "hicckory". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "history", "hickey", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: A shortening of pockerchicory/pokickery/pohickery, from Powhatan pawcohiccora. The correct English form is hickory, spelled H-I-C-K-O-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Any of various deciduous hardwood trees of the genera Carya and Annamocarya, one species of which, Carya illinoinensis, is the source of pecan nuts.
- 2The wood of these trees.
- 3A coarse, durable cotton fabric.
- 4A club with a head made from hickory wood.
Etymology
A shortening of pockerchicory/pokickery/pohickery, from Powhatan pawcohiccora.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hcikory,hhickory,hicckory,hickkory,hickorry,hickoryy,hickoyr,hickroy,hicokry,hikcory,ihckory
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hickory - 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
How do you spell "hickory"?
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Using “hickory”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-I-C-K-O-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhɪkəɹiː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “history” - see the side-by-side comparison. hickory vs history
- 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.