nop

/nɒp/

//nɒp// noun

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

"nop" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nop” is uncommon English (frequency #61,668 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,668
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A no-op; a CPU instruction that does nothing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nop · nop · English

nop · rank #61,668 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,668
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nonstandard

Nearest frequency peer: nonstandard (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “nop”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “nop” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nop
PropertyValue
Headwordnop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nɒp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#61,668
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nop” in English

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

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “nonstandard” (#61,667), “nonconformist” (#61,666), “nosedive” (#61,670). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nop” is #61,668. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nop is uncommon English at frequency #61,668 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /nɒp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A no-op; a CPU instruction that does nothing.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for nop, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is nop, spelled N-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A no-op; a CPU instruction that does nothing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The MIPS instruction set is rich in nops, since any instruction with zero as a destination is guaranteed to do nothing.
  2. 2004, Patterson et al, Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface Notice that in computing CPI or IPC, we do not count any nops executed as useful instructions.

Synonyms

no-op

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 "nop"?
"nop" is spelled N-O-P. The IPA pronunciation is /nɒp/.
What does "nop" mean?
As a noun, "nop" means: A no-op; a CPU instruction that does nothing.
How do you pronounce "nop"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nop" is /nɒp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nop" come from?
"nop" 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nop", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

PSR#61,733lep#61,590RDX#61,751LDA#61,584

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list