hight

/haɪt/

//haɪt// verb

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

"hight" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hight” is uncommon English (frequency #52,995 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,995
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To call, name.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hight · hight · English

hight · rank #52,995 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,995
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hie

Nearest frequency peer: hie (-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 “hight”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hight
PropertyValue
Headwordhight
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/haɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#52,995
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hight” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hightfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “hie” (#52,994), “Hippocrates” (#52,996), “hissed” (#52,997). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hight” is #52,995. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hight is uncommon English at frequency #52,995 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /haɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for hight in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English highten, variant of hoten (“to name, to be named”), from Old English hātan. The stem of the word was remodelled by analogy with the simple past form hight, from Old English hēht. Cognate with Scots hecht, Dutch heten, German heißen, etc. The correct English form is hight, spelled H-I-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To call, name.
  2. 2
    To be called or named.
  3. 3
    To command; to enjoin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. King Arthur's court was hight Camelot.
  2. He that made loue vnto the eldeſt Dame, Was hight Sir Huddibras, an hardy man[…]

Etymology

From Middle English highten, variant of hoten (“to name, to be named”), from Old English hātan. The stem of the word was remodelled by analogy with the simple past form hight, from Old English hēht. Cognate with Scots hecht, Dutch heten, German heißen, etc.

This word in other languages

llamarse(Español)s'appeler(Français)heißen(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 "hight"?
"hight" is spelled H-I-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /haɪt/.
What does "hight" mean?
As a verb, "hight" means: To call, name.
How do you pronounce "hight"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hight" is /haɪt/. 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 "hight"?
From Middle English highten, variant of hoten (“to name, to be named”), from Old English hātan. The stem of the word was remodelled by analogy with the simple past form hight, from Old English hēht. Cognate with Scots hecht, Dutch heten, German he... 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 "hight", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

harpy#52,984Haney#52,979Gómez#52,973getup#52,962

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list