husk
/hʌsk/noun, verb
husk is spelled H-U-S-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, husk means “The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of husk is husks.
How many letters and syllables are in husk?
| Letters | 4: H-U-S-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,320th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is husk?
Husk appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce husk?
- US /hʌsk/
- /hʊsk/
Husk has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-husk.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with husk?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as husk from its last stressed vowel (/ʌsk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kush.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of husk
- husks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- husking participle, present
- husked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does husk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside.
A coconut has a very thick husk.
- 2
Any form of useless, dried up, and subsequently worthless exterior of something.
His attorney was a dried-up husk of a man.
- 3
The supporting frame of a run of millstones.
- 4
rareA group of hares.
- 5
An infection in cattle caused by a species of Dictyocaulus or lungworm
verb
- 1
To remove husks from.
- 2
To cough, clear one's throat.
- 3
To say huskily, to utter in a husky voice.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Husk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | écale |
| German | Hülse, Schote, Hülle, Schale, Getreidespelze |
| Portuguese | casca |
| Spanish | farfolla, cáscara , sombra, faramalla |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does husk come from?
From Middle English huske, husk (“husk”). Perhaps from Old English *husuc, *hosuc (“little covering, sheath”), diminutive of hosu (“pod, shell, husk”), from Proto-West Germanic *hosā, from Proto-Germanic *husǭ (“covering, shell, leggings”), from Proto-Indo-European *kawəs- / kawes- (“cover”). If so, equivalent to hose + -ock. Alternatively from Middle Low German hûs(e)ken, hü̂seken (“little house, sheath”), Middle Dutch husekijn (“little house, core of fruit, case”), diminutive of hûs (“house”). Compare Dutch huisje, German Häuschen, both also used for “snailshell”.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).