pokes

/pəʊks/

//pəʊks// verb

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

The verdict

“pokes” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,127. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,127
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - third-person singular simple present indicative of poke

Corpus desk

Index EN-pokes · pokes · English

pokes · rank #32,127 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,127
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH plunger

Nearest frequency peer: plunger (-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 “pokes”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pokes” 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).

pokes vs pos
60% similar
pokes vs pope
60% similar
pokes vs pole
60% similar

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

Key facts for pokes
PropertyValue
Headwordpokes
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pəʊks/
Letters5
Frequency rank#32,127
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pokes”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pokeslands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “plunger” (#32,126), “porta” (#32,128), “plumes” (#32,125). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pokes” is #32,127. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around pokes (IPA /pəʊks/), averb. Corpus frequency is #32,127 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "third-person singular simple present indicative of poke".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for pokes, with forms such as "opkes", "pkoes", and "poeks". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pos", "pope", "pole", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is pokes, spelled P-O-K-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    third-person singular simple present indicative of poke

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opkes
  • pkoes
  • poeks
  • pokess
  • pokkes
  • pokse
  • ppokes

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

opkes2pkoes2poeks2pokess1pokkes1pokse2ppokes1
Edit distance from "pokes"

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 "pokes"?
"pokes" is spelled P-O-K-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pəʊks/.
What does "pokes" mean?
As a verb, "pokes" means: third-person singular simple present indicative of poke
What words are commonly confused with "pokes"?
"pokes" is commonly confused with "pos", "pope", "pole". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pokes"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pokes" is /pəʊks/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pokes" come from?
"pokes" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "pokes", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list