ick
/ɪk/
"ick" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ick” is uncommon English (frequency #50,584 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #50,584
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An exclamation of disgust.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ick · ick · English
ick · rank #50,584 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #50,584
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH hypnotize
Nearest frequency peer: hypnotize (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “ick”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- huffing
huffing
49,421 corpus weight
- hunks
hunks
49,420 corpus weight
- hypnotize
hypnotize
49,418 corpus weight
- ick
ick
49,417 corpus weight
- Ido
Ido
49,416 corpus weight
- impresario
impresario
49,413 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ick” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ick |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /ɪk/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #50,584 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ick” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ick is uncommon English at frequency #50,584 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An exclamation of disgust.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ick, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably imitative. First use appears c. 1942. The correct English form is ick, spelled I-C-K.
Definition
- 1An exclamation of disgust.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ick appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Lizzie grabbed a frog out of the lake and put it in her hair! Ick!
An aside for those who think “ick” about goat milk: If there are no billy goats around to arouse those sex hormones, goat milk does not taste “goat-y.
Etymology
Probably imitative. First use appears c. 1942.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ick", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).