hike

/haɪk/

//haɪk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hike” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,696. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,696
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hike · hike · English

hike · rank #7,696 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,696
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH herald

Nearest frequency peer: herald (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hike”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hike” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

hike vs HK
0% similar
hike vs his
50% similar
hike vs him
50% similar

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

Key facts for hike
PropertyValue
Headwordhike
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/haɪk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#7,696
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hike”

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).hikelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “herald” (#7,695), “hollow” (#7,697), “goin” (#7,694). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hike” is #7,696. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around hike (IPA /haɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,696 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for hike, with forms such as "hhike", "hiek", and "hikke". 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, "HK", "his", "him", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk with a lim… The correct English form is hike, spelled H-I-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
  2. 2
    An abrupt increase.
  3. 3
    The snap of the ball to start a play.
  4. 4
    A sharp upward tug to raise something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Well, if it gave him so much pleasure to find the nest, he is welcome to the eggs. I can hunt another grass tuft, lay another set, and rear my brood in peace while he goes "hiking" after eggs at Flathead.
  2. From here, you can pick up the asphalt bike path and take a hike across the meadow.

Etymology

From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk with a limp”), Danish hinke (“to hop”).

This word in other languages

caminata(Español)randonnée(Français)Wanderung(Deutsch)caminhada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhike
  • hiek
  • hikke
  • hkie
  • ihke

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hike - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hhike1hiek2hikke1hkie2ihke2
Edit distance from "hike"

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 "hike"?
"hike" is spelled H-I-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /haɪk/.
What does "hike" mean?
As a noun, "hike" means: A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
What words are commonly confused with "hike"?
"hike" is commonly confused with "HK", "his", "him". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hike"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hike" is /haɪk/. 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 "hike"?
From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk ... 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 "hike", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

goin#7,694Kane#7,705lame#7,707lily#7,709

Similar misspelling depth

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

Ellis5 variantsTroy5 variantsunto5 variantsanal5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list