honeycomb

/ˈhʌnikəʊm/

//ˈhʌnikəʊm// noun

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

"honeycomb" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“honeycomb” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,203. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,203
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal cells to hold their larvae, and for storing pollen and honey to feed the larvae and themselves when other food...

Corpus desk

Index EN-honeycomb · honeycomb · English

honeycomb · rank #31,203 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,203
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Herod

Nearest frequency peer: Herod (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “honeycomb”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “honeycomb” 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
Key facts for honeycomb
PropertyValue
Headwordhoneycomb
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhʌnikəʊm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#31,203
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “honeycomb”

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).honeycomblands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Herod” (#31,201), “hopelessness” (#31,205), “headliner” (#31,200). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “honeycomb” is #31,203. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around honeycomb (IPA /ˈhʌnikəʊm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,203 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for honeycomb, with forms such as "hhoneycomb", "hnoeycomb", and "hoenycomb". 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. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English hony comb, from Old English huniġcamb, from huniġ (“honey”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂ónks (“honey”)) + camb (“comb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“peg; tooth; row of teeth”)). The E… The correct English form is honeycomb, spelled H-O-N-E-Y-C-O-M-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal cells to hold their larvae, and for storing pollen and honey to feed the larvae and themselves when other food is scarce; it is also eaten by humans as part of comb-honey; (countable) a single sheet made up of two layers of this substance.
  2. 2
    Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
  3. 3
    Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
  4. 4
    Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
  5. 5
    Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
  6. 6
    Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
  7. 7
    Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
  8. 8
    Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.
  9. 9
    Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.
  10. 10
    Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.
  11. 11
    Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Pleaſant words are [as] an honycombe, ſweete to the ſoule, and health to the bones.
  2. So vvee read that God manifeſted by the Lots vvhich Saul cauſed to be dravvn [1 Sam[uel] 14.43.] the fault that Jonathan had committed, in eating a honey-comb, contrary to the oath taken by the people.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English hony comb, from Old English huniġcamb, from huniġ (“honey”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂ónks (“honey”)) + camb (“comb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“peg; tooth; row of teeth”)). The English word is analysable as honey + comb. The Oxford English Dictionary posits that the arrangement of several plates of wax “hanging parallel to each other from the roof of the hive suggests a comb with its teeth”. The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

panal(Español)alvéole(Français)Wabe(Deutsch)favo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhoneycomb
  • hnoeycomb
  • hoenycomb
  • honecyomb
  • honeyccomb
  • honeycmob
  • honeycobm
  • honeycombb
  • honeycommb
  • honeyocmb
  • honeyycomb
  • honneycomb
  • honyecomb
  • ohneycomb

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hhoneycomb1hnoeycomb2hoenycomb2honecyomb2honeyccomb1honeycmob2honeycobm2honeycombb1
Edit distance from "honeycomb"

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 "honeycomb"?
"honeycomb" is spelled H-O-N-E-Y-C-O-M-B. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhʌnikəʊm/.
What does "honeycomb" mean?
As a noun, "honeycomb" means: A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal cells to hold their larvae, and for storing pollen and honey to feed the larvae and themselves when other food...
What are common misspellings of "honeycomb"?
Common misspellings include "hhoneycomb", "hnoeycomb", "hoenycomb", "honecyomb", "honeyccomb". The correct spelling is "honeycomb".
How do you pronounce "honeycomb"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "honeycomb" is /ˈhʌnikəʊm/. 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 "honeycomb"?
The noun is derived from Middle English hony comb, from Old English huniġcamb, from huniġ (“honey”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂ónks (“honey”)) + camb (“comb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“peg; tooth; row of teeth... 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 "honeycomb", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

headliner#31,200Hutchison#31,212indemnity#31,221installer#31,223

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

gratuitous14 variantsimpassioned14 variantsetymology14 variantsmetallurgy14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list