hough
/hɒk/
"hough" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hough” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,686. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #29,686
- frequency rank, English
- 2,646
- “H” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative form of hock (“the hollow behind the knee”).
Corpus desk
Index EN-hough · hough · English
hough · rank #29,686 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #29,686
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,646
- PHOTO-FINISH homing
Nearest frequency peer: homing (-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.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hough”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- heirloom
heirloom
70,318 corpus weight
- hoisted
hoisted
70,317 corpus weight
- homing
homing
70,316 corpus weight
- hough
hough
70,315 corpus weight
- huntsman
huntsman
70,314 corpus weight
- hustler
hustler
70,313 corpus weight
What this shows “hough” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hough”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around hough (IPA /hɒk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,686 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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”).
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how hough appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In the bright light, lightened and cooled in limb, he eyed carefully his black trousers, the ends, the knees, the houghs of the knees.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hough", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).