reeking

/ˈɹiːkɪŋ/

//ˈɹiːkɪŋ// verb

"reeking" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“reeking” is uncommon English (frequency #63,192 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,192
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of reek

Corpus desk

Index EN-reeking · reeking · English

reeking · rank #63,192 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,192
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reem

Nearest frequency peer: reem (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “reeking”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “reeking” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for reeking
PropertyValue
Headwordreeking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈɹiːkɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#63,192
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “reeking” in English

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).reekingfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “reem” (#63,193), “redheaded” (#63,190), “reexamine” (#63,194). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reeking” is #63,192. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

reeking is uncommon English at frequency #63,192 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈɹiːkɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "present participle and gerund of reek".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for reeking, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is reeking, spelled R-E-E-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of reek

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 "reeking"?
"reeking" is spelled R-E-E-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹiːkɪŋ/.
What does "reeking" mean?
As a verb, "reeking" means: present participle and gerund of reek
How do you pronounce "reeking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reeking" is /ˈɹiːkɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "reeking" come from?
"reeking" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "reeking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list