kemp
/kɛmp/
"kemp" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kemp” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,508 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,508
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A coarse or bristly hair, whisker; (in the plural) knotty hairs that will not felt.
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 | kemp |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kɛmp/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #16,508 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kemp” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for kemp is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɛmp/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,508 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for kemp, with forms such as "ekmp", "kemmp", and "kempp". 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, "KP", "key", "Kim", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English kempe (“coarse hairs”), from Old English cenep (“moustache; bit (of a bridle, bristling with points)”), from Proto-West Germanic *kanip, from Proto-Germanic *kanipaz (“beard, moustache, whiskers”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (“jaw”)… The correct English form is kemp, spelled K-E-M-P.
Definition
- 1A coarse or bristly hair, whisker; (in the plural) knotty hairs that will not felt.
- 2Rough hair, wool, or fur.
Etymology
From Middle English kempe (“coarse hairs”), from Old English cenep (“moustache; bit (of a bridle, bristling with points)”), from Proto-West Germanic *kanip, from Proto-Germanic *kanipaz (“beard, moustache, whiskers”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (“jaw”). Related to chin.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ekmp,kemmp,kempp,kepm,kkemp,kmep
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kemp - 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 "kemp"?
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Using “kemp”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is K-E-M-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kɛmp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “KP” - see the side-by-side comparison. kemp vs KP
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.