hough
/hɒk/
"hough" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hough” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,686 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #29,686
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative form of hock (“the hollow behind the knee”).
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 | hough |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /hɒk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #29,686 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hough” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hough is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /hɒk/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,686 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for hough, with forms such as "hhough", "hoguh", and "houggh". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "huh", "hug", "hour", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hough, houȝ, hoch, howghe, from Old English hōh (“heel, hough”), from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel”). Doublet of hoo. The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the comp… The correct English form is hough, spelled H-O-U-G-H.
Definition
- 1Alternative form of hock (“the hollow behind the knee”).
- 2Alternative form of hock (“tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped”).
Etymology
From Middle English hough, houȝ, hoch, howghe, from Old English hōh (“heel, hough”), from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel”). Doublet of hoo. The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the compound huxen (also *hoxen), from Old English hōhsinu.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hhough,hoguh,houggh,houghh,houhg,huogh,ohugh
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hough - 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.
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 "hough"?
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Using “hough”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-O-U-G-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /hɒk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “huh” - see the side-by-side comparison. hough vs huh
- 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.