rake

/ɹeɪk/

//ɹeɪk// noun

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

"rake" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rake” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,699. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,699
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn...

Corpus desk

Index EN-rake · rake · English

rake · rank #17,699 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,699
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH recalling

Nearest frequency peer: recalling (+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 “rake”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “rake” 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).

rake vs re
50% similar
rake vs ran
50% similar
rake vs ray
50% similar

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

Key facts for rake
PropertyValue
Headwordrake
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹeɪk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#17,699
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rake”

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).rakelands 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 “recalling” (#17,700), “Purdue” (#17,697), “resent” (#17,701). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rake” is #17,699. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around rake (IPA /ɹeɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,699 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for rake, with forms such as "arke", "raek", and "rakke". 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, "re", "ran", "ray", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rake [and other forms], from Old English raca, racu, ræce (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Germanic *rakō, *rekô (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, right on… The correct English form is rake, spelled R-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor.
  2. 2
    A similarly shaped tool used for other purposes.
  3. 3
    A similarly shaped tool used for other purposes.
  4. 4
    A type of puffer train that leaves behind a stream of spaceships as it moves.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. […] Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft.
  2. I've been dealing primarily with rake and spaceship interactions for ease of experimentation (a rake will invariably escape before being eaten by even its most hellish progeny, and a spaceship is easy to redraw on the spot).

Etymology

From Middle English rake [and other forms], from Old English raca, racu, ræce (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Germanic *rakō, *rekô (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, right oneself”). Cognates The English word is cognate with Danish rage (chiefly regional), Middle Dutch rāke, rēke (modern Dutch raak, reek (both regional), riek (“pitchfork, rake”)), Middle Low German rāke, racke (modern German Low German Raak (“rake; poker”)), Old High German rehho, rech (Middle High German reche, modern German Rechen (“rake”)), Old Norse reka (“shovel”) (modern Icelandic reka (“shovel”)), Old Saxon recho, Old Swedish raka (modern Swedish raka (“rake; (long) straight section of a road”)).

This word in other languages

rastrillo(Español)râteau(Français)Rechen(Deutsch)ancinho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • arke
  • raek
  • rakke
  • rkae
  • rrake

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rake - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

arke2raek2rakke1rkae2rrake1
Edit distance from "rake"

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 "rake"?
"rake" is spelled R-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹeɪk/.
What does "rake" mean?
As a noun, "rake" means: A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn...
What words are commonly confused with "rake"?
"rake" is commonly confused with "re", "ran", "ray". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rake" is /ɹeɪk/. 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 "rake"?
From Middle English rake [and other forms], from Old English raca, racu, ræce (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Germanic *rakō, *rekô (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten... 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 "rake", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Shea#17,717MIDI#17,674Luca#17,663lash#17,657

Similar misspelling depth

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

Mecca5 variantsLouie5 variantskale5 variantszhou5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list