knife

/naɪf/

//naɪf// noun

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

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

The verdict

“knife” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,567. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,567
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may b...

Corpus desk

Index EN-knife · knife · English

knife · rank #3,567 · 7 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,567
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH kings

Nearest frequency peer: kings (-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 “knife”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “knife” 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).

knife vs knit
60% similar
knife vs knits
60% similar
knife vs knives
67% similar

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

Key facts for knife
PropertyValue
Headwordknife
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/naɪf/
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,567
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “knife”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “kings” (#3,566), “lately” (#3,568), “institution” (#3,565). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “knife” is #3,567. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around knife (IPA /naɪf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,567 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for knife, with forms such as "kinfe", "kknife", and "knfie". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "knit", "knits", "knives", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English knyf, knif, from late Old English cnīf, from Old Norse knífr, from Proto-Germanic *knībaz, from *knīpaną (“to pinch”), Proto-Indo-European *gneybʰ- (compare Lithuanian gnýbti, žnýbti (“to pinch”), gnaibis (“pinching”)). Displaced native … The correct English form is knife, spelled K-N-I-F-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may be pointed for piercing.
  2. 2
    A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing or stabbing but too short to be called a sword; a dagger.
  3. 3
    Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as that of a chipper.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was looking for a knife to chop some steak.
  2. Jeff was bent low over the backboard, working with the knife, a steady sawing motion, his shirt soaked through with sweat.

Etymology

From Middle English knyf, knif, from late Old English cnīf, from Old Norse knífr, from Proto-Germanic *knībaz, from *knīpaną (“to pinch”), Proto-Indo-European *gneybʰ- (compare Lithuanian gnýbti, žnýbti (“to pinch”), gnaibis (“pinching”)). Displaced native Middle English sax (“knife”) from Old English seax; and Middle English coutel, qwetyll (“knife”) from Old French coutel. The verb knife is attested since the 1860s; the variant knive is attested since 1733. Cognates Cognate with Yola kunnife (“knife”), North Frisian knif (“knife”), Dutch knijf (“long pointy knife, poniard”), German Knifte (“rifle; thick slicebread”), German Low German Knief (“knife”), Luxembourgish Knäip (“paring knife”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk kniv (“knife”), Faroese knívur (“knife”), Icelandic hnífur, knífur (“knife”), Swedish knif, kniv (“knife”).

This word in other languages

cuchillo(Español)couteau(Français)Messer(Deutsch)faca(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • kinfe
  • kknife
  • knfie
  • knief
  • kniffe
  • knnife
  • nkife

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

kinfe2kknife1knfie2knief2kniffe1knnife1nkife2
Edit distance from "knife"

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 "knife"?
"knife" is spelled K-N-I-F-E. The IPA pronunciation is /naɪf/.
What does "knife" mean?
As a noun, "knife" means: A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may b...
What words are commonly confused with "knife"?
"knife" is commonly confused with "knit", "knits", "knives". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "knife"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "knife" is /naɪf/. 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 "knife"?
From Middle English knyf, knif, from late Old English cnīf, from Old Norse knífr, from Proto-Germanic *knībaz, from *knīpaną (“to pinch”), Proto-Indo-European *gneybʰ- (compare Lithuanian gnýbti, žnýbti (“to pinch”), gnaibis (“pinching”)). Displac... 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 "knife", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

kings#3,566hired#3,562foods#3,561Dutch#3,558

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

illness7 variantssaint7 variantssteal7 variantsbureau7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list