host
/həʊst/
"host" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“host” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,758 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,758
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | host |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /həʊst/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #1,758 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “host” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for host is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /həʊst/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,758 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 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 host, with forms such as "hhost", "hosst", and "hostt". 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", "hut", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstis Proto-Indo-European *pótis Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis Proto-Italic *hostipotis Latin hospes Old French ostebor. Middle English hoste English host From Middle English hoste, from Old French oste (French: hôte… The correct English form is host, spelled H-O-S-T.
Definition
- 1One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially.
- 2One that provides a facility for an event.
- 3A person or organization responsible for running an event.
- 4A moderator or master of ceremonies for a performance.
- 5The primary member of a system, typically the member who fronts most often.
- 6Any computer attached to a network.
- 7A cell or organism which harbors another organism or biological entity, usually a parasite.
- 8An organism bearing certain genetic material, with respect to its cells.
- 9A paid male companion offering conversation and in some cases sex, as in certain types of bar in Japan.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstis Proto-Indo-European *pótis Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis Proto-Italic *hostipotis Latin hospes Old French ostebor. Middle English hoste English host From Middle English hoste, from Old French oste (French: hôte), from Latin hospitem, accusative of hospes (“a host, also a sojourner, visitor, guest; hence, a foreigner, a stranger”), from *hostipotis, an old compound of hostis and the root of potis, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis (“master of guests”), from *gʰóstis (“stranger, guest, enemy”) and *pótis (“owner, master, host, husband”). Used in English since 13th century.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hhost,hosst,hostt,ohst
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of host - 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.
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
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Using “host”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-O-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /həʊst/ (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. host 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.