loup

/luːp/

//luːp// noun

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

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

The verdict

“loup” is uncommon English (frequency #54,913 among 16,425 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,913
frequency rank, English
16,425
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mass of iron in a pasty condition gathered into a ball for the trip hammer or rolls.

Key facts for loup
PropertyValue
Headwordloup
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/luːp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#54,913
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “loup” 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). loup lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

loup is uncommon English at frequency #54,913 among 16,425 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /luːp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A mass of iron in a pasty condition gathered into a ball for the trip hammer or rolls.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for loup, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Luppe (“a lump of iron”). The correct English form is loup, spelled L-O-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mass of iron in a pasty condition gathered into a ball for the trip hammer or rolls.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Luppe (“a lump of iron”).

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 "loup"?
"loup" is spelled L-O-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /luːp/.
What does "loup" mean?
As a noun, "loup" means: A mass of iron in a pasty condition gathered into a ball for the trip hammer or rolls.
How do you pronounce "loup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "loup" is /luːp/. 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 "loup"?
Borrowed from German Luppe (“a lump of iron”). 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.

Using “loup”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is L-O-U-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /luːp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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