hide

/haɪd/

//haɪd// verb

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

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

The verdict

“hide” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,794 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#2,794
frequency rank, English
4
letters
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.

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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for hide is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /haɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,794 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 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 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.

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

esconder(Español)cacher(Français)verbergen(Deutsch)esconder(Português)

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.

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.

Using “hide”

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

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