ranks

/ɹæŋks/

//ɹæŋks// noun

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

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

The verdict

“ranks” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,884. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,884
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of rank

Corpus desk

Index EN-ranks · ranks · English

ranks · rank #4,884 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,884
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Rangers

Nearest frequency peer: Rangers (-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 “ranks”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ranks” 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).

ranks vs ras
60% similar
ranks vs runs
60% similar
ranks vs rats
60% similar

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

Key facts for ranks
PropertyValue
Headwordranks
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹæŋks/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,884
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ranks”

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).rankslands 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 “Rangers” (#4,883), “reception” (#4,885), “Queensland” (#4,882). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “ranks” is #4,884. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around ranks (IPA /ɹæŋks/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,884 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Dominant gloss: "plural of rank".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for ranks, with forms such as "arnks", "rakns", and "rankks". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ras", "runs", "rats", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is ranks, spelled R-A-N-K-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of rank

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Although it was only City's second appearance in the Champions League, they had plenty of European experience in their ranks and they were confident in possession early on.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • arnks
  • rakns
  • rankks
  • rankss
  • rannks
  • ransk
  • rnaks
  • rranks

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ranks - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

arnks2rakns2rankks1rankss1rannks1ransk2rnaks2rranks1
Edit distance from "ranks"

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 "ranks"?
"ranks" is spelled R-A-N-K-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹæŋks/.
What does "ranks" mean?
As a noun, "ranks" means: plural of rank
What words are commonly confused with "ranks"?
"ranks" is commonly confused with "ras", "runs", "rats". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ranks"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ranks" is /ɹæŋks/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ranks" come from?
"ranks" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "ranks", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

rolls#4,889Mario#4,873snake#4,895maker#4,871

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

recipe8 variantsserial8 variantstrips8 variantsappeals8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list