hive

/haɪv/

//haɪv// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hive” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,961. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,961
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 structure, whether artificial or natural, for housing a swarm of honeybees.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hive · hive · English

hive · rank #14,961 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,961
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hitter

Nearest frequency peer: hitter (-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 “hive”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hive” 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).

hive vs hv
50% similar
hive vs hue
50% similar
hive vs hoe
50% similar

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

Key facts for hive
PropertyValue
Headwordhive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/haɪv/
Letters4
Frequency rank#14,961
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hive”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hivelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “hitter” (#14,960), “homophobic” (#14,962), “hind” (#14,959). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hive” is #14,961. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around hive (IPA /haɪv/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,961 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 hive, with forms such as "hhive", "hiev", and "hivve". 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, "hv", "hue", "hoe", 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 hyve, from Old English hȳf, from Proto-West Germanic *hūfi, from Proto-Indo-European *kuHp- (“water vessel”), from *kew- (“to bend, curve”). See also Dutch huif (“beehive”), Danish dialect huv (“ship’s hull”); also Latin cūpa (“tub, vat”… The correct English form is hive, spelled H-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A structure, whether artificial or natural, for housing a swarm of honeybees.
  2. 2
    The bees of one hive; a swarm of bees.
  3. 3
    A place swarming with busy occupants; a crowd.
  4. 4
    A section of the registry.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. First, for thy Bees a quiet Station find, / And lodge 'em under Covert of the Wind: / For Winds, when homeward they return, will drive / The loaded Carriers from their Ev'ning Hive.
  2. When that the general is not like the hive, to whom the foragers shall all repair, what honey is expected?

Etymology

From Middle English hyve, from Old English hȳf, from Proto-West Germanic *hūfi, from Proto-Indo-European *kuHp- (“water vessel”), from *kew- (“to bend, curve”). See also Dutch huif (“beehive”), Danish dialect huv (“ship’s hull”); also Latin cūpa (“tub, vat”), Ancient Greek κύπη (kúpē, “gap, hole”), κύπελλον (kúpellon, “beaker”), Sanskrit कूप (kū́pa, “cave”). Doublet of coupe, cup, and keeve. The computing term was chosen as an in-joke relating to bees; see https://web.archive.org/web/20150715222122/http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2003/08/08/54618.aspx.

This word in other languages

enjambre(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhive
  • hiev
  • hivve
  • hvie
  • ihve

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hive - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhive1hiev2hivve1hvie2ihve2
Edit distance from "hive"

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 "hive"?
"hive" is spelled H-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /haɪv/.
What does "hive" mean?
As a noun, "hive" means: A structure, whether artificial or natural, for housing a swarm of honeybees.
What words are commonly confused with "hive"?
"hive" is commonly confused with "hv", "hue", "hoe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hive" is /haɪv/. 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 "hive"?
From Middle English hyve, from Old English hȳf, from Proto-West Germanic *hūfi, from Proto-Indo-European *kuHp- (“water vessel”), from *kew- (“to bend, curve”). See also Dutch huif (“beehive”), Danish dialect huv (“ship’s hull”); also Latin cūpa (... 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 "hive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

hind#14,959imam#14,967mesa#14,998cobb#14,922

Similar misspelling depth

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

litre5 variantsmanny5 variantsavid5 variantsannex5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list