hie

/haɪ/

//haɪ// verb

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

"hie" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hie” is uncommon English (frequency #52,994 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,994
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To hasten; to go quickly, to hurry.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hie · hie · English

hie · rank #52,994 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,994
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hight

Nearest frequency peer: hight (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “hie”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “hie” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hie
PropertyValue
Headwordhie
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/haɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#52,994
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hie” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hiefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “hight” (#52,995), “Hippocrates” (#52,996), “hissed” (#52,997). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hie” is #52,994. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hie is uncommon English at frequency #52,994 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /haɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for hie, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hien, hyen, highen, heiȝen, hiȝen, from Old English hīgian (“to hie, hasten, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic *hīgōn, from Proto-Germanic *hīgōną (“to breathe, snort”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱēygʰ- (“swift, fierce, violent”). Cogna… The correct English form is hie, spelled H-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To hasten; to go quickly, to hurry.
  2. 2
    To hurry (oneself).
  3. 3
    To urge (a horse) to the left with a cry of "hie".

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But after her lover Amyntas hied.
  2. Hath pleased you, and eased you, and sweet slumber seized you. And now to bed I hie.

Etymology

From Middle English hien, hyen, highen, heiȝen, hiȝen, from Old English hīgian (“to hie, hasten, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic *hīgōn, from Proto-Germanic *hīgōną (“to breathe, snort”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱēygʰ- (“swift, fierce, violent”). Cognate with Dutch hijgen (“to pant”), German heichen (“to choke, gasp for breath”), Danish hige (“to aspire, long”), Latin cieō (“set in motion, invoke, provoke”), Ancient Greek κινέω (kinéō, “move, set in motion”).

This word in other languages

apresurarse(Español)se hâter(Français)eilen(Deutsch)

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 "hie"?
"hie" is spelled H-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is /haɪ/.
What does "hie" mean?
As a verb, "hie" means: To hasten; to go quickly, to hurry.
How do you pronounce "hie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hie" is /haɪ/. 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 "hie"?
From Middle English hien, hyen, highen, heiȝen, hiȝen, from Old English hīgian (“to hie, hasten, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic *hīgōn, from Proto-Germanic *hīgōną (“to breathe, snort”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱēygʰ- (“swift, fierce, violen... 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 "hie", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

IFR#53,011FSM#52,954fon#52,951eba#52,915

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list