kiss

/kɪs/

//kɪs// verb

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

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

The verdict

“kiss” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,586) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,586
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kiss · kiss · English

kiss · rank #2,586 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,586
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Jackson

Nearest frequency peer: Jackson (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “kiss”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “kiss” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

kiss vs KS
0% similar
kiss vs kit
50% similar
kiss vs KMS
0% similar

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

Key facts for kiss
PropertyValue
Headwordkiss
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɪs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,586
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “kiss”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).kisslands 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 “Jackson” (#2,585), “load” (#2,587), “it'll” (#2,584). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kiss” is #2,586. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for kiss is neighbouring look-alikes ("KS", "kit", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /kɪs/. Frequency #2,586 among 1,236 “K” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for kiss, with forms such as "ikss", "kis", and "kkiss". 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, "KS", "kit", "KMS", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English kissen, kussen, from Old English cyssan (“to kiss”), from Proto-West Germanic *kussijan, from Proto-Germanic *kussijaną (“to kiss”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian küsje, Dutch kussen, German Low German küssen, German küssen, Danish … The correct English form is kiss, spelled K-I-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting.
  2. 2
    To (cause to) touch lightly or slightly; to come into contact.
  3. 3
    Of two or more people, to touch each other's lips together, usually to express love or affection or passion.
  4. 4
    To treat with fondness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He […] kissed her lips with such a clamorous smack, / That at the parting all the church echoed.
  2. I'll kiss thy foot. I'll swear myself thy subject.

Etymology

From Middle English kissen, kussen, from Old English cyssan (“to kiss”), from Proto-West Germanic *kussijan, from Proto-Germanic *kussijaną (“to kiss”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian küsje, Dutch kussen, German Low German küssen, German küssen, Danish kysse, Swedish kyssa, Norwegian kysse, Icelandic kyssa. Compare Proto-Indo-European *ku-, *kus- (probably imitative), with byspels including Ancient Greek κύσσω (kússō), poetic form of κύσω (kúsō, “to kiss”), and Hittite [script needed] (kuwassanzi, “they kiss”).

Synonyms

bussgoozerkisslallygaglipslock lipsosculatepashplay tonsil hockeysmoochsnogsuck faceswap spit

This word in other languages

besar(Español)embrasser(Français)küssen(Deutsch)beijar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ikss
  • kis
  • kkiss
  • ksis

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kiss - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ikss2kis1kkiss1ksis2
Edit distance from "kiss"

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 "kiss"?
"kiss" is spelled K-I-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kɪs/.
What does "kiss" mean?
As a verb, "kiss" means: To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting.
What words are commonly confused with "kiss"?
"kiss" is commonly confused with "KS", "kit", "KMS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "kiss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kiss" is /kɪs/. 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 "kiss"?
From Middle English kissen, kussen, from Old English cyssan (“to kiss”), from Proto-West Germanic *kussijan, from Proto-Germanic *kussijaną (“to kiss”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian küsje, Dutch kussen, German Low German küssen, German küsse... 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 "kiss", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

load#2,587plot#2,588rent#2,592flag#2,577

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list