kills

/kɪlz/

//kɪlz// noun

"kills" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kills” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,028 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,028
frequency rank, English
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - plural of kill

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

kills vs kiss
60% similar
kills vs kits
60% similar
kills vs kilo
60% similar

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

Key facts for kills
PropertyValue
Headwordkills
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɪlz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,028
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “kills” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for kills is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɪlz/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,028 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "plural of kill".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for kills, with forms such as "iklls", "killss", and "kils". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "kiss", "kits", "kilo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is kills, spelled K-I-L-L-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of kill

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: iklls,killss,kils,kilsl,kkills,klils

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iklls2killss1kils1kilsl2kkills1klils2
Edit distance from "kills"

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 "kills"?
"kills" is spelled K-I-L-L-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kɪlz/.
What does "kills" mean?
As a noun, "kills" means: plural of kill
What words are commonly confused with "kills"?
"kills" is commonly confused with "kiss", "kits", "kilo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "kills"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kills" is /kɪlz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kills" come from?
"kills" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “kills”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is K-I-L-L-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /kɪlz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “kiss” - see the side-by-side comparison. kills vs kiss
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list