rock
/ɹɒk/
"rock" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rock” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,002 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,002
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A formation of minerals, specifically:
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 | rock |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹɒk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #1,002 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rock” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for rock is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɒk/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,002 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 21 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 rock, with forms such as "orck", "rcok", and "rocck". 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, "row", "Roy", "Ron", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English rocke, rokke (“rock formation”), from Old English *rocc (“rock”), as in Old English stānrocc (“high stone rock, peak, obelisk”), and also later from Anglo-Norman roque, (compare Modern French roc, roche, rocher), from Medieval … The correct English form is rock, spelled R-O-C-K.
Definition
- 1A formation of minerals, specifically:
- 2A formation of minerals, specifically:
- 3A formation of minerals, specifically:
- 4A formation of minerals, specifically:
- 5A formation of minerals, specifically:
- 6A large hill or island having no vegetation.
- 7Something that is strong, stable, and dependable; a person who provides security or support to another.
- 8A lump or cube of ice.
- 9A type of confectionery made from sugar in the shape of a stick, traditionally having some text running through its length.
- 10A crystallized lump of crack cocaine.
- 11An unintelligent person, especially one who repeats mistakes.
- 12An Afrikaner.
- 13An extremely conservative player who is willing to play only the very strongest hands.
- 14Any of several fish:
- 15Any of several fish:
- 16A basketball.
- 17A mistake.
- 18Synonym of stone.
- 19A closed hand (a handshape resembling a rock), that beats scissors and loses to paper. It beats lizard and loses to Spock in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
- 20A cricket ball, especially a new one that has not been softened by use
- 21A crystal used to control the radio frequency.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English rocke, rokke (“rock formation”), from Old English *rocc (“rock”), as in Old English stānrocc (“high stone rock, peak, obelisk”), and also later from Anglo-Norman roque, (compare Modern French roc, roche, rocher), from Medieval Latin rocca (attested 767), of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be of Celtic (in particular, perhaps Gaulish) origin (compare Breton roc'h). Related also to Middle Low German rocke (“rock ledge”). One suggestion is that it derives from Vulgar Latin *rupica, from rupes (compare rupico).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: orck,rcok,rocck,rockk,rokc,rrock
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rock - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “rock”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-O-C-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɒk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “row” - see the side-by-side comparison. rock vs row
- 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.