hipster

/ˈhɪp.stə/

//ˈhɪp.stə// noun

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

"hipster" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hipster” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,336. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,336
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who is keenly interested in the latest trends or fashions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hipster · hipster · English

hipster · rank #18,336 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,336
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH herpes

Nearest frequency peer: herpes (-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 “hipster”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hipster” 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).

hipster vs hitter
71% similar
hipster vs holster
71% similar
hipster vs Hester
57% similar

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

Key facts for hipster
PropertyValue
Headwordhipster
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɪp.stə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,336
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hipster”

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).hipsterlands 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 “herpes” (#18,335), “heresy” (#18,334), “hostess” (#18,338). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hipster” is #18,336. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around hipster (IPA /ˈhɪp.stə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,336 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for hipster, with forms such as "hhipster", "hippster", and "hipsetr". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "hitter", "holster", "Hester", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hip + -ster. First attested for someone carrying something on their hip in the U.S. in the 1920s. Attested as a variant of hepster in the 1940s, for a follower of the latest fashions/trends/styles. The correct English form is hipster, spelled H-I-P-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who is keenly interested in the latest trends or fashions.
  2. 2
    A member of Bohemian counterculture.
  3. 3
    An aficionado of jazz who considers himself or herself to be hip.
  4. 4
    A person who wears a hip flask (of alcohol).
  5. 5
    A dancer, particularly a female one.
  6. 6
    Underwear with an elastic waistband at hip level.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. c. 1954, Jack Kerouac, Untitled poem, in Book of Sketches, 1952-57, Penguin, 2006, p. 239, I, poor French Canadian Ti Jean become / a big sophisticated hipster esthete in / the homosexual arts […]
  2. Clare grapples with the idea that she, a well-dressed city hipster, will soon be in the boondocks raising a child with two men who are as much in love with each other as with her: "I'm not this unusual," she stammers. "It's just my hair."

Etymology

From hip + -ster. First attested for someone carrying something on their hip in the U.S. in the 1920s. Attested as a variant of hepster in the 1940s, for a follower of the latest fashions/trends/styles.

Synonyms

vial villaingentleman from Kentucky

This word in other languages

hipster(Español)Hipster(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhipster
  • hippster
  • hipsetr
  • hipsster
  • hipsterr
  • hipstre
  • hipstter
  • hiptser
  • hispter
  • hpister
  • ihpster

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hipster - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhipster1hippster1hipsetr2hipsster1hipsterr1hipstre2hipstter1hiptser2
Edit distance from "hipster"

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 "hipster"?
"hipster" is spelled H-I-P-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪp.stə/.
What does "hipster" mean?
As a noun, "hipster" means: A person who is keenly interested in the latest trends or fashions.
What words are commonly confused with "hipster"?
"hipster" is commonly confused with "hitter", "holster", "Hester". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hipster"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hipster" is /ˈhɪp.stə/. 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 "hipster"?
From hip + -ster. First attested for someone carrying something on their hip in the U.S. in the 1920s. Attested as a variant of hepster in the 1940s, for a follower of the latest fashions/trends/styles. 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 "hipster", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hostess#18,338iceberg#18,341handgun#18,329Haitian#18,328

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

landfill11 variantslighten11 variantsflashed11 variantsMarxism11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list