ook
/uːk/
"ook" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ook” is uncommon English (frequency #62,376 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #62,376
- frequency rank, English
- 1,431
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to represent the sound of the cry of an ape or monkey.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ook · ook · English
ook · rank #62,376 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #62,376
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,431
- PHOTO-FINISH onsen
Nearest frequency peer: onsen (-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 “ook”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- oases
oases
37,631 corpus weight
- oiler
oiler
37,629 corpus weight
- onsen
onsen
37,626 corpus weight
- ook
ook
37,625 corpus weight
- operetta
operetta
37,624 corpus weight
- Osuna
Osuna
37,622 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ook” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ook |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /uːk/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #62,376 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ook” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ook is uncommon English at frequency #62,376 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /uːk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Used to represent the sound of the cry of an ape or monkey.".
ook doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Imitative of the cry of an ape or monkey. The correct English form is ook, spelled O-O-K.
Definition
- 1Used to represent the sound of the cry of an ape or monkey.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ook appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He tapped the Librarian on the shoulder. "Excuse me —" "Ook?" "Those guys just called you a monkey," said Glod.
The irate ape cries, "Ook ook! Ai ai ai!" He springs off the edge of the stone basin, clawing Cantare across the face and bursting through the door.
Etymology
Imitative of the cry of an ape or monkey.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ook", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).