jolt

/d͡ʒɒlt/

//d͡ʒɒlt// verb

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

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

The verdict

“jolt” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,265. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,265
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To push or shake abruptly and roughly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jolt · jolt · English

jolt · rank #28,265 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,265
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH Jia

Nearest frequency peer: Jia (-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 “jolt”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “jolt” 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).

jolt vs joy
50% similar
jolt vs Jon
25% similar
jolt vs Joo
25% similar

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

Key facts for jolt
PropertyValue
Headwordjolt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/d͡ʒɒlt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#28,265
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “jolt”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).joltlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Jia” (#28,264), “juggle” (#28,266), “JG” (#28,263). Among 796 “J” headwords, “jolt” is #28,265. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around jolt (IPA /d͡ʒɒlt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #28,265 among 796 “J” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for jolt, with forms such as "jjolt", "jlot", and "jollt". 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, "joy", "Jon", "Joo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Perhaps from joll (“to knock, strike”) + -t (frequentative suffix). The correct English form is jolt, spelled J-O-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To push or shake abruptly and roughly.
  2. 2
    To knock sharply
  3. 3
    To shock (someone) into taking action or being alert
  4. 4
    To shock emotionally.
  5. 5
    To shake; to move with a series of jerks.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The bus jolted its passengers at every turn.
  2. I jolted her out of complacency.

Etymology

Perhaps from joll (“to knock, strike”) + -t (frequentative suffix).

This word in other languages

sacudir(Español)ballotter(Français)schütteln(Deutsch)sacudir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • jjolt
  • jlot
  • jollt
  • joltt
  • jotl
  • ojlt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of jolt - 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.

jjolt1jlot2jollt1joltt1jotl2ojlt2
Edit distance from "jolt"

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 "jolt"?
"jolt" is spelled J-O-L-T. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒɒlt/.
What does "jolt" mean?
As a verb, "jolt" means: To push or shake abruptly and roughly.
What words are commonly confused with "jolt"?
"jolt" is commonly confused with "joy", "Jon", "Joo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "jolt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jolt" is /d͡ʒɒlt/. 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 "jolt"?
Perhaps from joll (“to knock, strike”) + -t (frequentative suffix). 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 "jolt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

kami#28,269Irma#28,258Kato#28,272keto#28,275

Similar misspelling depth

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

hottie6 variantsgump6 variantsGTFO6 variantsO'Neil6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list