holies

/ˈhoʊliz/

//ˈhoʊliz// noun

"holies" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“holies” is uncommon English (frequency #71,571 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,571
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of holy. Used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.

Corpus desk

Index EN-holies · holies · English

holies · rank #71,571 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #71,571
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hizb

Nearest frequency peer: hizb (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “holies”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “holies” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for holies
PropertyValue
Headwordholies
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhoʊliz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#71,571
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “holies” in English

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).holiesfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “hizb” (#71,569), “hooky” (#71,573), “Howrah” (#71,574). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “holies” is #71,571. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

holies is uncommon English at frequency #71,571 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhoʊliz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "plural of holy. Used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for holies, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is holies, spelled H-O-L-I-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of holy. Used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The holy of holies, a cubical space of ten cubits on the side, was separated from the larger antechamber by four columns, which were also covered with gold and stood upon silver sockets; they bore a second curtain of four colors.

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 "holies"?
"holies" is spelled H-O-L-I-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhoʊliz/.
What does "holies" mean?
As a noun, "holies" means: plural of holy. Used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.
How do you pronounce "holies"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "holies" is /ˈhoʊliz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "holies" come from?
"holies" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "holies", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list