plank
/ˈplæŋk/
"plank" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“plank” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,884 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,884
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | plank |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈplæŋk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #15,884 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “plank” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for plank is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈplæŋk/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,884 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for plank, with forms such as "lpank", "palnk", and "plakn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "play", "punk", "plat", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English plank, planke, borrowed from Old French planke, Old Northern French planque (compare French planche, from Old French planche), from Vulgar Latin planca, from palanca, from Latin phalanga. The Latin term derives from the Ancient Greek φάλ… The correct English form is plank, spelled P-L-A-N-K.
Definition
- 1A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick.
- 2A political issue that is of concern to a faction or a party of the people and the political position that is taken on that issue.
- 3Physical exercise in which one holds a pushup position for a measured length of time.
- 4A stupid person, idiot.
- 5That which supports or upholds.
Etymology
From Middle English plank, planke, borrowed from Old French planke, Old Northern French planque (compare French planche, from Old French planche), from Vulgar Latin planca, from palanca, from Latin phalanga. The Latin term derives from the Ancient Greek φάλαγξ (phálanx), so it is thus a doublet of phalange and phalanx. Compare also the doublets planch and planche, and plancha, borrowed later from Middle French, Modern French, and Spanish, respectively.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: lpank,palnk,plakn,plankk,plannk,pllank,plnak,pplank
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plank - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "plank"?
What does "plank" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "plank"?
How do you pronounce "plank"?
What is the origin of the word "plank"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “plank”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-L-A-N-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈplæŋk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “play” - see the side-by-side comparison. plank vs play
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.