hollow

/ˈhɒl.əʊ/

//ˈhɒl.əʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hollow” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,697. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,697
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small valley between mountains.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hollow · hollow · English

hollow · rank #7,697 · 7 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,697
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hike

Nearest frequency peer: hike (-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 “hollow”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hollow” 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).

hollow vs holly
67% similar
hollow vs Holton
50% similar
hollow vs Holloway
63% similar

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

Key facts for hollow
PropertyValue
Headwordhollow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɒl.əʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,697
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hollow”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).hollowlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hike” (#7,696), “homeland” (#7,698), “herald” (#7,695). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hollow” is #7,697. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around hollow (IPA /ˈhɒl.əʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,697 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for hollow, with forms such as "hhollow", "hlolow", and "holloww". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "holly", "Holton", "Holloway", 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 Middle English holow, holowe, holwe, holwȝ, holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”), from Proto-West Germanic *holh, from Proto-Germanic *hulhwą, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱólḱwos. Cognate with Old High German huliwa and hulwa, Middle High Ge… The correct English form is hollow, spelled H-O-L-L-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small valley between mountains.
  2. 2
    A sunken area on a surface.
  3. 3
    An unfilled space in something solid; a cavity, natural or artificial.
  4. 4
    A feeling of emptiness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies.
  2. c. 1710–20, Matthew Prior, The First Hymn Of Callimachus: To Jupiter Forests grew upon the barren hollows.

Etymology

From Middle English holow, holowe, holwe, holwȝ, holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”), from Proto-West Germanic *holh, from Proto-Germanic *hulhwą, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱólḱwos. Cognate with Old High German huliwa and hulwa, Middle High German hülwe. Related to hole.

This word in other languages

depresión(Español)val(Français)Mulde(Deutsch)depressão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhollow
  • hlolow
  • holloww
  • hollwo
  • hololw
  • holow
  • ohllow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hhollow1hlolow2holloww1hollwo2hololw2holow1ohllow2
Edit distance from "hollow"

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 "hollow"?
"hollow" is spelled H-O-L-L-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɒl.əʊ/.
What does "hollow" mean?
As a noun, "hollow" means: A small valley between mountains.
What words are commonly confused with "hollow"?
"hollow" is commonly confused with "holly", "Holton", "Holloway". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hollow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hollow" is /ˈhɒl.əʊ/. 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 "hollow"?
From Middle English holow, holowe, holwe, holwȝ, holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”), from Proto-West Germanic *holh, from Proto-Germanic *hulhwą, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱólḱwos. Cognate with Old High German huliwa and hulwa, Midd... 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 "hollow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

herald#7,695kissed#7,706locker#7,711metals#7,716

Similar misspelling depth

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

feast7 variantsdudes7 variantsdepot7 variantspipes7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list