reap

/ɹiːp/

//ɹiːp// verb

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

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

The verdict

“reap” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #14,394) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#14,394
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine

Corpus desk

Index EN-reap · reap · English

reap · rank #14,394 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,394
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH rationale

Nearest frequency peer: rationale (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “reap”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “reap” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

reap vs RP
0% similar
reap vs red
50% similar
reap vs rep
75% similar

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

Key facts for reap
PropertyValue
Headwordreap
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹiːp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#14,394
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “reap”

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).reaplands 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 “rationale” (#14,393), “rebound” (#14,395), “Randolph” (#14,392). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reap” is #14,394. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for reap is neighbouring look-alikes ("RP", "red", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /ɹiːp/. Frequency #14,394 among 3,094 “R” headwords. 6 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for reap, with forms such as "erap", "reapp", and "repa". 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, "RP", "red", "rep", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English repen, from Old English rēopan, rēpan, variants of Old English rīpan (“to reap”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpan, from Proto-Germanic *rīpaną (compare West Frisian repe, Norwegian ripa (“to score, scratch”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h… The correct English form is reap, spelled R-E-A-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine
  2. 2
    To gather (e.g. a harvest) by cutting.
  3. 3
    To obtain or receive as a reward, in a good or a bad sense.
  4. 4
    To terminate a child process that has previously exited, thereby removing it from the process table.
  5. 5
    To deprive of the beard; to shave.
  6. 6
    rape

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And when ye reape the haruest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reape the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy haruest.
  2. to reap a benefit from exertions

Etymology

From Middle English repen, from Old English rēopan, rēpan, variants of Old English rīpan (“to reap”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpan, from Proto-Germanic *rīpaną (compare West Frisian repe, Norwegian ripa (“to score, scratch”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”).

This word in other languages

segar(Español)faucher(Français)ernten(Deutsch)ceifar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erap
  • reapp
  • repa
  • rreap

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reap - 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.

erap2reapp1repa2rreap1
Edit distance from "reap"

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 "reap"?
"reap" is spelled R-E-A-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹiːp/.
What does "reap" mean?
As a verb, "reap" means: To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine
What words are commonly confused with "reap"?
"reap" is commonly confused with "RP", "red", "rep". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "reap"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reap" is /ɹiːp/. 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 "reap"?
From Middle English repen, from Old English rēopan, rēpan, variants of Old English rīpan (“to reap”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpan, from Proto-Germanic *rīpaną (compare West Frisian repe, Norwegian ripa (“to score, scratch”)), from Proto-Indo-E... 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 "reap", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pawn#14,379numb#14,373Mali#14,362lite#14,353

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list