hide

/haɪd/

//haɪd// verb

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

The verdict

“hide” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,794. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,794
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To put (something) in a place where it will be out of sight or harder to discover.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hide · hide · English

hide · rank #2,794 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,794
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 23,837
  • PHOTO-FINISH heavily

Nearest frequency peer: heavily (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “hide”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “hide” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

hide vs his
50% similar
hide vs him
50% similar
hide vs hit
50% similar

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

Key facts for hide
PropertyValue
Headwordhide
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/haɪd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,794
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hide” 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). hide lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around hide (IPA /haɪd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,794 among 23,837 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for hide, with forms such as "hdie", "hhide", and "hidde". 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, "his", "him", "hit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hiden, huden, from Old English hȳdan (“to hide, conceal, preserve”), from Proto-West Germanic *huʀdijan (“to conceal”), from Proto-Germanic *huzdijaną (“to hoard”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewdʰ- (“to cover, wrap, encase”), from Pro… The correct English form is hide, spelled H-I-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To put (something) in a place where it will be out of sight or harder to discover.
  2. 2
    To put oneself in a place where one will be out of sight or harder to find.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He hides his magazines under the bed.
  2. The politicians were accused of keeping information hidden from the public.

Etymology

From Middle English hiden, huden, from Old English hȳdan (“to hide, conceal, preserve”), from Proto-West Germanic *huʀdijan (“to conceal”), from Proto-Germanic *huzdijaną (“to hoard”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewdʰ- (“to cover, wrap, encase”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover”). The verb was originally weak. In the King James Version of the Bible (1611), both hid and hidden are used for the past participle. Cognates Cognate with Dutch huiden, Low German (ver)hüden, (ver)hüen (“to hide, cover, conceal”), Welsh cuddio (“to hide”), Latin custōs, Ancient Greek κεύθω (keúthō, “to conceal”), Sanskrit कुहरम् (kuharam, “cave”). Related to hut and sky.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hdie
  • hhide
  • hidde
  • hied
  • ihde

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hide - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hdie2hhide1hidde1hied2ihde2
Edit distance from "hide"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hide"?
"hide" is spelled H-I-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /haɪd/.
What does "hide" mean?
As a verb, "hide" means: To put (something) in a place where it will be out of sight or harder to discover.
What words are commonly confused with "hide"?
"hide" is commonly confused with "his", "him", "hit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hide"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hide" is /haɪd/. 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 "hide"?
From Middle English hiden, huden, from Old English hȳdan (“to hide, conceal, preserve”), from Proto-West Germanic *huʀdijan (“to conceal”), from Proto-Germanic *huzdijaną (“to hoard”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewdʰ- (“to cover, wrap, encase”)... 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 "hide", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

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

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