hulk

/hʌlk/

//hʌlk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“hulk” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,864. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,864
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A large ship used for transportation; (more generally) a large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hulk · hulk · English

hulk · rank #10,864 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,864
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH homosexual

Nearest frequency peer: homosexual (-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 “hulk”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hulk” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

hulk vs hut
50% similar
hulk vs hum
50% similar
hulk vs hun
50% similar

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

Key facts for hulk
PropertyValue
Headwordhulk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hʌlk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#10,864
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hulk”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “homosexual” (#10,863), “hydraulic” (#10,865), “impulse” (#10,866). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hulk” is #10,864. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around hulk (IPA /hʌlk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,864 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for hulk, with forms such as "hhulk", "hluk", and "hukl". 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, "hut", "hum", "hun", 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 hulk, hulke, holke (“hut; shed for hogs; type of ship; husk, pod, shell; large, clumsy person; a giant”) (probably reinforced by Middle Dutch hulk, huelc, and Middle Low German hulk, holk, hollek (“freighter, cargo ship, barge”)), from O… The correct English form is hulk, spelled H-U-L-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A large ship used for transportation; (more generally) a large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre.
  2. 2
    A non-functional but floating ship, usually stripped of equipment and rigging, and often put to other uses such as accommodation or storage.
  3. 3
    A large structure with a dominating presence.
  4. 4
    A big (and possibly clumsy) person.
  5. 5
    A big (and possibly clumsy) person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Light boates ſaile ſwift, though greater hulkes draw deepe.
  2. Their ſhips thus ſet on ſhore (to fruſtrate their deſire) / Thoſe Daniſh Hulkes became the food of Engliſh fire.

Etymology

From Middle English hulk, hulke, holke (“hut; shed for hogs; type of ship; husk, pod, shell; large, clumsy person; a giant”) (probably reinforced by Middle Dutch hulk, huelc, and Middle Low German hulk, holk, hollek (“freighter, cargo ship, barge”)), from Old English hulc (“light ship; heavy, clumsy ship; cabin, hovel, hut”), from Proto-West Germanic *huluk, *hulik, from Proto-Germanic *hulukaz, *hulikaz (“something hollowed or dug out, cavity”), equivalent to hole/hollow + -ock. Cognate with Old High German holcho (“cargo or transport ship, barge”) (whence Middle High German holche, modern German Holk), Old Norse hólkr (“metal tube, ring”), dialectal Norwegian holk, hylke (“wooden barrel”), Middle English holken (“to dig out, gouge”). Relation to Medieval Latin hulcus (“ship”) is uncertain, as Old English may have borrowed from Latin or vice versa, but the form holcas rather points to borrowing from Ancient Greek ὁλκάς (holkás, “ship being towed; cargo ship, ship used for trading, holcad”) (compare Ancient Greek ἕλκω (hélkō, “to drag”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to draw, pull”)). See more at the Old English entry hulc. The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

socotroco(Español)épave(Français)Hulk(Deutsch)matulão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhulk
  • hluk
  • hukl
  • hulkk
  • hullk
  • uhlk

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hulk - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhulk1hluk2hukl2hulkk1hullk1uhlk2
Edit distance from "hulk"

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 "hulk"?
"hulk" is spelled H-U-L-K. The IPA pronunciation is /hʌlk/.
What does "hulk" mean?
As a noun, "hulk" means: A large ship used for transportation; (more generally) a large ship that is difficult to manoeuvre.
What words are commonly confused with "hulk"?
"hulk" is commonly confused with "hut", "hum", "hun". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hulk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hulk" is /hʌlk/. 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 "hulk"?
From Middle English hulk, hulke, holke (“hut; shed for hogs; type of ship; husk, pod, shell; large, clumsy person; a giant”) (probably reinforced by Middle Dutch hulk, huelc, and Middle Low German hulk, holk, hollek (“freighter, cargo ship, barge”... 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 "hulk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Jeep#10,876knot#10,877lust#10,882mayo#10,885

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Haiti6 variantsbleed6 variantsrang6 variantsamino6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list