pique

/piːk/

//piːk// verb

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

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

The verdict

“pique” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,706. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,706
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pique · pique · English

pique · rank #31,706 · 6 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,706
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pips

Nearest frequency peer: pips (-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 “pique”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pique” 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).

pique vs pixie
60% similar
pique vs plaque
67% similar
pique vs piqued
83% similar

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

Key facts for pique
PropertyValue
Headwordpique
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/piːk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#31,706
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pique”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).piquelands 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 “pips” (#31,705), “Pinocchio” (#31,704), “plowed” (#31,708). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pique” is #31,706. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around pique (IPA /piːk/), averb. Corpus frequency is #31,706 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pique, with forms such as "ipque", "piqeu", and "piqque". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "pixie", "plaque", "piqued", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is borrowed from French piquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry; to provoke, stimulate; (reflexive) to boast about”), from Middle French piquer, picquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry”), fro… The correct English form is pique, spelled P-I-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend.
  2. 2
    To excite (someone) to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate (an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest).
  3. 3
    To pride (oneself) on something.
  4. 4
    To excite or stimulate (oneself).
  5. 5
    To take pride in.
  6. 6
    To excite to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest.
  7. 7
    To express jealousy, resentment, etc. at someone; to become angry or annoyed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Dev'l was piqu'd, ſuch ſaintſhip to behold, / And long'd to tempt him like good Job of old: / But Satan novv is vviſer than of yore, / And tempts by making rich, not making poor.
  2. Brisk Confidence still best with woman copes; / Pique her and soothe in turn, soon Passion crowns thy hopes.

Etymology

The verb is borrowed from French piquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry; to provoke, stimulate; (reflexive) to boast about”), from Middle French piquer, picquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry”), from Old French piquer (“to pierce with the tip of a sword”), from proto-Romance or Vulgar Latin *pīccare (“to sting; to strike”) or *pikkāre, and then either: * Onomatopoeic; or * from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to knock; to peck; to pick; to prick”). If so, pique is a doublet of pick, pitch, and peck. The noun is borrowed from Middle French pique (“a quarrel; resentment”) (modern French pique), from piquer, picquer (verb); see above.

This word in other languages

encender(Español)pikieren(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ipque
  • piqeu
  • piqque
  • piuqe
  • ppique
  • pqiue

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pique - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ipque2piqeu2piqque1piuqe2ppique1pqiue2
Edit distance from "pique"

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 "pique"?
"pique" is spelled P-I-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /piːk/.
What does "pique" mean?
As a verb, "pique" means: To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend.
What words are commonly confused with "pique"?
"pique" is commonly confused with "pixie", "plaque", "piqued". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pique"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pique" is /piːk/. 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 "pique"?
The verb is borrowed from French piquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry; to provoke, stimulate; (reflexive) to boast about”), from Middle French piquer, picquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get an... 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 "pique", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pings#31,703Ponzi#31,711pecan#31,697Osman#31,685

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

pips6 variantsPugh6 variantsOsage6 variantslifes6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list