hood

/hʊd/

//hʊd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hood” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,051 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,051
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A covering for the head, usually attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hood vs how
50% similar
hood vs hot
50% similar
hood vs hop
50% similar

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

Key facts for hood
PropertyValue
Headwordhood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hʊd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,051
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hood” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for hood is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /hʊd/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,051 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for hood, with forms such as "hhood", "hodo", and "hoodd". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "how", "hot", "hop", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hood, hod, from Old English hōd, from Proto-West Germanic *hōd, from Old English hōd, from Proto-Germanic *hōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kadʰ- (“to cover”). See also Saterland Frisian Houd (“hat; hood”), West Frisian/Dutch hoed (“hat”… The correct English form is hood, spelled H-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A covering for the head, usually attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak.
  2. 2
    A covering for the head, usually attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak.
  3. 3
    A distinctively colored fold of material, representing a university degree.
  4. 4
    An enclosure that protects something, especially from above.
  5. 5
    Particular parts of conveyances
  6. 6
    Particular parts of conveyances
  7. 7
    Particular parts of conveyances
  8. 8
    Particular parts of conveyances
  9. 9
    Particular parts of conveyances
  10. 10
    Various body parts
  11. 11
    Various body parts
  12. 12
    Various body parts
  13. 13
    Various body parts

Etymology

From Middle English hood, hod, from Old English hōd, from Proto-West Germanic *hōd, from Old English hōd, from Proto-Germanic *hōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kadʰ- (“to cover”). See also Saterland Frisian Houd (“hat; hood”), West Frisian/Dutch hoed (“hat”), Cimbrian huat, huut (“hat”), German Hut (“hat”), German Low German Hood (“hat; hood”), Luxembourgish Hutt (“hat”); also Proto-Iranian *xawdaH (“hat”) (Avestan 𐬑𐬂𐬛𐬀 (xåda), Old Persian 𐎧𐎢𐎭 (x-u-d /⁠xaudā⁠/)). More at hat.

This word in other languages

capirote(Español)capuche(Français)Kapuze(Deutsch)capô(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hhood,hodo,hoodd,ohod

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hood - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhood1hodo2hoodd1ohod2
Edit distance from "hood"

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 "hood"?
"hood" is spelled H-O-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /hʊd/.
What does "hood" mean?
As a noun, "hood" means: A covering for the head, usually attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak.
What words are commonly confused with "hood"?
"hood" is commonly confused with "how", "hot", "hop". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hood"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hood" is /hʊd/. 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 "hood"?
From Middle English hood, hod, from Old English hōd, from Proto-West Germanic *hōd, from Old English hōd, from Proto-Germanic *hōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kadʰ- (“to cover”). See also Saterland Frisian Houd (“hat; hood”), West Frisian/Dutch h... 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.

Using “hood”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-O-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /hʊd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “how” - see the side-by-side comparison. hood vs how
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list