hook

/hʊk/

//hʊk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hook” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,816. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,816
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hook · hook · English

hook · rank #3,816 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,816
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 23,837
  • PHOTO-FINISH honour

Nearest frequency peer: honour (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “hook”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “hook” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

hook vs how
50% similar
hook vs hot
50% similar
hook vs hop
50% similar

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

Key facts for hook
PropertyValue
Headwordhook
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hʊk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,816
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hook” 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). hook lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around hook (IPA /hʊk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,816 among 23,837 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 37 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for hook, with forms such as "hhook", "hok", and "hoko". 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, "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 hoke, from Old English hōc (“angle, point, hook”), from Proto-West Germanic *hōk, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, variant of *hakô (“hook”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kog-, *keg-, *keng- (“peg, hook, claw”). Cognates Cogn… The correct English form is hook, spelled H-O-O-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.
  2. 2
    A barbed metal hook used for fishing; a fishhook.
  3. 3
    Any of various hook-shaped agricultural implements such as a billhook.
  4. 4
    The curved needle used in the art of crochet.
  5. 5
    The part of a hinge which is fixed to a post, and on which a door or gate hangs and turns.
  6. 6
    A loop shaped like a hook under certain written letters, for example, g and j.
  7. 7
    A tie-in to a current event or trend that makes a news story or editorial relevant and timely.
  8. 8
    A snare; a trap.
  9. 9
    An advantageous hold.
  10. 10
    The projecting points of the thighbones of cattle; called also hook bones.
  11. 11
    Removal or expulsion from a group or activity.
  12. 12
    A field sown two years in succession.
  13. 13
    A grasp (of), an attachment (to).
  14. 14
    A brief, punchy opening statement intended to get attention from an audience, reader, or viewer, and make them want to continue to listen to a speech, read a book, or watch a play.
  15. 15
    A gimmick or element of a creative work intended to be attention-grabbing for the audience; a compelling idea for a story that will be sure to attract people's attention.
  16. 16
    A finesse.
  17. 17
    A jack (the playing card).
  18. 18
    A sharp bend or angle in the course or length of an object (e.g. a bend in a river, etc.).
  19. 19
    A spit or narrow cape of sand or gravel turned landward at the outer end, such as Sandy Hook in New Jersey.
  20. 20
    A catchy musical phrase which forms the basis of a popular song.
  21. 21
    A ship's anchor.
  22. 22
    Part of a system's operation that can be intercepted to change or augment its behaviour.
  23. 23
    An instance of playing a word perpendicular to a word already on the board, adding a letter to the start or the end of the word to form a new word.
  24. 24
    A diacritical mark shaped like the upper part of a question mark, as in ỏ.
  25. 25
    A háček.
  26. 26
    Senses relating to sports.
  27. 27
    Senses relating to sports.
  28. 28
    Senses relating to sports.
  29. 29
    Senses relating to sports.
  30. 30
    Senses relating to sports.
  31. 31
    Senses relating to sports.
  32. 32
    Senses relating to sports.
  33. 33
    Any of the chevrons denoting rank.
  34. 34
    A prostitute.
  35. 35
    A pickpocket.
  36. 36
    Synonym of shoulder (“the part of a wave that has not yet broken”).
  37. 37
    A knee-shaped wooden join connecting the keel to the stem (post forming the frontmost part of the bow) or the sternpost in cog-like vessels or similar vessels.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep, / Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook / Spares the next swath and all its twinèd flowers: [...]
  2. A shop of all the qualities, that man Loues woman for, besides that hooke of Wiuing,

Etymology

From Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc (“angle, point, hook”), from Proto-West Germanic *hōk, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, variant of *hakô (“hook”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kog-, *keg-, *keng- (“peg, hook, claw”). Cognates Cognate with Scots huke, huik (“hook”), West Frisian and Dutch hoek (“hook, angle, corner”), Low German Hook, Huuk, German Hook (“small cluster of farms”), Faroese høkja (“crutch”), Icelandic hækja (“crutch”), Norn hek (“crutch”), Finnish kuokka (“hoe, mattock”). Related to hake.

This word in other languages

gancho(Español)crochet(Français)Haken(Deutsch)gancho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhook
  • hok
  • hoko
  • hookk
  • ohok

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hhook1hok1hoko2hookk1ohok2
Edit distance from "hook"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hook"?
"hook" is spelled H-O-O-K. The IPA pronunciation is /hʊk/.
What does "hook" mean?
As a noun, "hook" means: A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.
What words are commonly confused with "hook"?
"hook" 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 "hook"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hook" is /hʊk/. 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 "hook"?
From Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc (“angle, point, hook”), from Proto-West Germanic *hōk, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, variant of *hakô (“hook”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kog-, *keg-, *keng- (“peg, hook, claw”). Cog... 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 "hook", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Phil#3,833anna#3,798seed#3,846spin#3,786

Similar misspelling depth

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

pope5 variantspace5 variantscoat5 variantsgrass5 variants
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