reeve
/ɹiːv/
"reeve" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“reeve” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,556 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #32,556
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | reeve |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹiːv/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #32,556 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “reeve” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for reeve is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹiːv/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,556 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for reeve, with forms such as "ereve", "reeev", and "reevve". 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, "rev", "Rene", "rove", 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 reve, from Old English rēfa, an aphetism of ġerēfa (also groefa), from Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō (“officer, official”). Compare Danish greve, Swedish greve, Dutch graaf, German Graf. The role, and eventually the word, was mostly repl… The correct English form is reeve, spelled R-E-E-V-E.
Definition
- 1Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities.
- 2The president of a township or municipal district council.
- 3The holder of a proposed but unadopted commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force, equivalent to wing commander.
Etymology
From Middle English reve, from Old English rēfa, an aphetism of ġerēfa (also groefa), from Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō (“officer, official”). Compare Danish greve, Swedish greve, Dutch graaf, German Graf. The role, and eventually the word, was mostly replaced by bailiff, of Anglo-Norman origin.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ereve,reeev,reevve,reve,revee,rreeve
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reeve - 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.
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 "reeve"?
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Using “reeve”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-E-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹiːv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rev” - see the side-by-side comparison. reeve vs rev
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.