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nike

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "nike", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "nike" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "nike" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Nike is aEnglishname. It means: The goddess of victory and triumph; Athena's companion. Pronounced /ˈnaɪkiː/. It ranks #8,582 in English word frequency. Often confused with nil and nip.

Key facts for Nike
PropertyValue
HeadwordNike
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˈnaɪkiː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#8,582
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Nike in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Nike is 4 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈnaɪkiː/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,582 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 5 documented wrong-spelling variants for Nike, with forms such as "inke", "niek", and "nikke". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nil", "nip", "nye", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Νίκη (Níkē), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Nike, spelled N-I-K-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The goddess of victory and triumph; Athena's companion.
  2. 2
    307 Nike, a main belt asteroid.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Νίκη (Níkē), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: inke,niek,nikke,nkie,nnike

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Nike

Misspelling Variants of "Nike"

inke4niek4nikke5nkie4nnike5
Misspelling Variants of "Nike"

Frequency rank: #8,582 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Nike"?
"Nike" is spelled N-I-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnaɪkiː/.
What does "Nike" mean?
As a name, "Nike" means: The goddess of victory and triumph; Athena's companion.
What words are commonly confused with "Nike"?
"Nike" is commonly confused with "nil", "nip", "nye". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Nike"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Nike" is /ˈnaɪkiː/. 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 "Nike"?
From Ancient Greek Νίκη (Níkē), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter N in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.