hitchhike
/ˈhɪt͡ʃhaɪk/
"hitchhike" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hitchhike” is uncommon English (frequency #76,849 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #76,849
- frequency rank, English
- 23,837
- “H” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To try to get a ride in a passing vehicle while standing at the side of a road, generally by either sticking out one's finger or thumb or holding a sign with one's stated destination.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hitchhike · hitchhike · English
hitchhike · rank #76,849 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #76,849
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 23,837
- PHOTO-FINISH Hirano
Nearest frequency peer: Hirano (-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 “hitchhike”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Hideyoshi
Hideyoshi
23,157 corpus weight
- highpoint
highpoint
23,156 corpus weight
- Hirano
Hirano
23,153 corpus weight
- hitchhike
hitchhike
23,152 corpus weight
- Hoddle
Hoddle
23,151 corpus weight
- Hollands
Hollands
23,147 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “hitchhike” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hitchhike |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈhɪt͡ʃhaɪk/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #76,849 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hitchhike” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
hitchhike is uncommon English at frequency #76,849 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈhɪt͡ʃhaɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for hitchhike, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From hitch + hike. The correct English form is hitchhike, spelled H-I-T-C-H-H-I-K-E.
Definition
- 1To try to get a ride in a passing vehicle while standing at the side of a road, generally by either sticking out one's finger or thumb or holding a sign with one's stated destination.
- 2To try to get (a ride) in this manner.
- 3To be carried along with something else.
Etymology
From hitch + hike.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hitchhike", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
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.