highlight
/ˈhaɪlaɪt/
"highlight" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“highlight” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,049 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,049
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An area or a spot in a drawing, painting, or photograph that is strongly illuminated.
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 | highlight |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhaɪlaɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #5,049 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “highlight” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for highlight is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhaɪlaɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,049 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for highlight, with forms such as "hgihlight", "hhighlight", and "higghlight". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "highlighter", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From high + light. The correct English form is highlight, spelled H-I-G-H-L-I-G-H-T.
Definition
- 1An area or a spot in a drawing, painting, or photograph that is strongly illuminated.
- 2An especially significant or interesting detail or event or period of time.
- 3A strand or spot of hair dyed a different color than the rest.
Etymology
From high + light.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hgihlight,hhighlight,higghlight,highhlight,highilght,highlgiht,highligght,highlighht,highlightt,highligth,highlihgt,highllight,higlhight,hihglight,ihghlight
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of highlight - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "highlight"?
What does "highlight" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “highlight”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-I-G-H-L-I-G-H-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhaɪlaɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “highlighter” - see the side-by-side comparison. highlight vs highlighter
- 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.