hives

/haɪvz/

//haɪvz// noun

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

"hives" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hives” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,782. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,782
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or due to other conditions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hives · hives · English

hives · rank #24,782 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,782
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hickory

Nearest frequency peer: hickory (-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 “hives”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hives” 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).

hives vs hues
60% similar
hives vs hove
60% similar
hives vs homes
60% similar

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

Key facts for hives
PropertyValue
Headwordhives
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/haɪvz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#24,782
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hives”

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).hiveslands 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 “hickory” (#24,781), “hiya” (#24,783), “Henson” (#24,780). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hives” is #24,782. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around hives (IPA /haɪvz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,782 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or due to other conditions.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for hives, with forms such as "hhives", "hievs", and "hivess". 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, "hues", "hove", "homes", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain, but frequently connected with heave, even if such a derivation is phonologically difficult. The correct English form is hives, spelled H-I-V-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or due to other conditions.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. So when I was diagnosed with a fairly difficult-to-treat disease called idiopathic angioedema and chronic urticaria (a fancy way of saying we don’t know why you swell and hey, enjoy the 24/7 hives) six months ago, I wasn't quite sure how to cope.
  2. When she recovers enough to look down at her arms [...] she blinks to see them covered in faint, but rising, puffy welts. Hives. She's breaking out in hives.

Etymology

Uncertain, but frequently connected with heave, even if such a derivation is phonologically difficult.

Synonyms

urticarianettle-rash

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhives
  • hievs
  • hivess
  • hivse
  • hivves
  • hvies
  • ihves

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hives - 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.

hhives1hievs2hivess1hivse2hivves1hvies2ihves2
Edit distance from "hives"

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 "hives"?
"hives" is spelled H-I-V-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /haɪvz/.
What does "hives" mean?
As a noun, "hives" means: Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or due to other conditions.
What words are commonly confused with "hives"?
"hives" is commonly confused with "hues", "hove", "homes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hives"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hives" is /haɪvz/. 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 "hives"?
Uncertain, but frequently connected with heave, even if such a derivation is phonologically difficult. 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 "hives", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hoist#24,784gunna#24,773groan#24,771laces#24,812

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Hubble7 variantsgunned7 variantsGallup7 variantsjagged7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list