reef

/ɹiːf/

//ɹiːf// noun

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

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

The verdict

“reef” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #9,240) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#9,240
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-reef · reef · English

reef · rank #9,240 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,240
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reactor

Nearest frequency peer: reactor (-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 “reef”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “reef” 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).

reef vs RF
0% similar
reef vs rep
50% similar
reef vs rev
50% similar

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

Key facts for reef
PropertyValue
Headwordreef
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹiːf/
Letters4
Frequency rank#9,240
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “reef”

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).reeflands 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 “reactor” (#9,239), “refined” (#9,241), “rand” (#9,238). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reef” is #9,240. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for reef is neighbouring look-alikes ("RF", "rep", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ɹiːf/. Frequency #9,240 among 3,094 “R” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for reef, with forms such as "eref", "reeff", and "refe". 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, "RF", "rep", "rev", 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 earlier riff, from Middle English rif, from Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”). Dutch rif (“reef”), Low German riff, reff (“reef”), German Riff (“reef, ledge… The correct English form is reef, spelled R-E-E-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water.
  2. 2
    A large vein of auriferous quartz; hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.

Etymology

From earlier riff, from Middle English rif, from Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”). Dutch rif (“reef”), Low German riff, reff (“reef”), German Riff (“reef, ledge”) are also borrowed from Old Norse. Doublet of rib.

This word in other languages

arrecife(Español)écueil(Français)Riff(Deutsch)recife(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eref
  • reeff
  • refe
  • rreef

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

eref2reeff1refe2rreef1
Edit distance from "reef"

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 "reef"?
"reef" is spelled R-E-E-F. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹiːf/.
What does "reef" mean?
As a noun, "reef" means: A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water.
What words are commonly confused with "reef"?
"reef" is commonly confused with "RF", "rep", "rev". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "reef"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reef" is /ɹiːf/. 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 "reef"?
From earlier riff, from Middle English rif, from Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”). Dutch rif (“reef”), Low German riff, reff (“reef”), German Riff (“r... 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 "reef", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

rand#9,238ramp#9,237sage#9,247obey#9,219

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list