hip

/hɪp/

//hɪp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hip” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #3,237) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#3,237
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The outward-projecting parts of the pelvis and top of the femur and the overlying tissue.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hip · hip · English

hip · rank #3,237 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,237
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hills

Nearest frequency peer: hills (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “hip”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “hip” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

hip vs ho
33% similar
hip vs HR
0% similar
hip vs HP
0% similar

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

Key facts for hip
PropertyValue
Headwordhip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɪp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#3,237
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hip” 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).hiplands 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 “hills” (#3,236), “hitting” (#3,238), “Georgia” (#3,235). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for hip is neighbouring look-alikes ("ho", "HR", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /hɪp/. Frequency #3,237 among 2,646 “H” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for hip in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ho", "HR", "HP", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hipe, hupe, from Old English hype, from Proto-Germanic *hupiz (compare Dutch heup, Low German Huop, German Hüfte), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (compare Welsh cysgu (“to sleep”), Latin cubāre (“to lie”), Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos, “h… The correct English form is hip, spelled H-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    The outward-projecting parts of the pelvis and top of the femur and the overlying tissue.
  2. 2
    The inclined external angle formed by the intersection of two sloping roof planes.
  3. 3
    In a bridge truss, the place where an inclined end post meets the top chord.
  4. 4
    A drug addict, especially someone addicted to a narcotic like heroin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. in all bridges preference will be given to designs having struts for hip verticals
  2. Ike explained to me that the Mexican government issued permits to hips allowing them a definite quantity of morphine per month at wholesale prices.

Etymology

From Middle English hipe, hupe, from Old English hype, from Proto-Germanic *hupiz (compare Dutch heup, Low German Huop, German Hüfte), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (compare Welsh cysgu (“to sleep”), Latin cubāre (“to lie”), Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos, “hollow in the hips”), Albanian sup (“shoulder”), Sanskrit शुप्ति (śúpti, “shoulder”)), from *ḱew- (“to bend”). More at high. The sense "drug addict" derives from addicts lying on their hips while using certain drugs such as opium.

This word in other languages

cadera(Español)hanche(Français)Hüfte(Deutsch)anca(Português)

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 "hip"?
"hip" is spelled H-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /hɪp/.
What does "hip" mean?
As a noun, "hip" means: The outward-projecting parts of the pelvis and top of the femur and the overlying tissue.
What words are commonly confused with "hip"?
"hip" is commonly confused with "ho", "HR", "HP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hip"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hip" is /hɪp/. 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 "hip"?
From Middle English hipe, hupe, from Old English hype, from Proto-Germanic *hupiz (compare Dutch heup, Low German Huop, German Hüfte), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (compare Welsh cysgu (“to sleep”), Latin cubāre (“to lie”), Ancient Greek κύβος ... 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 "hip", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

egg#3,227CEO#3,216gap#3,166mac#3,313

What to do next

You've looked up "hip". Here's where to go from here.

  • "hip" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ho". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #3,237 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "H" letter cohort. H–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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