rocky

/ˈɹɒki/

//ˈɹɒki// adj

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

"rocky" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rocky” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,543. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,543
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abounding in, or full of, rocks; consisting of rocks.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rocky · rocky · English

rocky · rank #5,543 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,543
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Roberts

Nearest frequency peer: Roberts (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “rocky”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “rocky” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

rocky vs Roy
40% similar
rocky vs Rory
40% similar
rocky vs rosy
60% similar

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

Key facts for rocky
PropertyValue
Headwordrocky
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɹɒki/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,543
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rocky”

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).rockylands 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 “Roberts” (#5,542), “retain” (#5,541), “saints” (#5,545). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rocky” is #5,543. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around rocky (IPA /ˈɹɒki/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #5,543 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for rocky, with forms such as "orcky", "rcoky", and "roccky". 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, "Roy", "Rory", "rosy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rokki, rokky (“rocky”), from rok, rokke (“rock; a rock or stone; large rock by a coast or in the sea; rocky outcrop on a mountain, cliff; castle, citadel, stronghold”) [and other forms] + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Rok, rokke are de… The correct English form is rocky, spelled R-O-C-K-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Abounding in, or full of, rocks; consisting of rocks.
  2. 2
    Like a rock; rigid, solid.
  3. 3
    Having a habitat around or on rocks.
  4. 4
    Not easily affected or impressed; stony; hard; obdurate; unfeeling.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a rocky mountain a rocky shore
  2. The pihoihoi live in the island's interior, and the torea on its rocky shore.

Etymology

From Middle English rokki, rokky (“rocky”), from rok, rokke (“rock; a rock or stone; large rock by a coast or in the sea; rocky outcrop on a mountain, cliff; castle, citadel, stronghold”) [and other forms] + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Rok, rokke are derived from: * Old English *rocc (“rock”); and * Anglo-Norman roc, roce, roque, and Old French roce, roke, roque, variants of roche (“rock”); both from Medieval Latin roca, rocca; further etymology uncertain, possibly of Celtic origin. The English word is analysable as rock + -y (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘having the quality of’).

This word in other languages

rocoso(Español)rocheux(Français)felsig(Deutsch)rochoso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • orcky
  • rcoky
  • roccky
  • rockky
  • rockyy
  • rocyk
  • rokcy
  • rrocky

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

orcky2rcoky2roccky1rockky1rockyy1rocyk2rokcy2rrocky1
Edit distance from "rocky"

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 "rocky"?
"rocky" is spelled R-O-C-K-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɒki/.
What does "rocky" mean?
As an adjective, "rocky" means: Abounding in, or full of, rocks; consisting of rocks.
What words are commonly confused with "rocky"?
"rocky" is commonly confused with "Roy", "Rory", "rosy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rocky"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rocky" is /ˈɹɒki/. 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 "rocky"?
From Middle English rokki, rokky (“rocky”), from rok, rokke (“rock; a rock or stone; large rock by a coast or in the sea; rocky outcrop on a mountain, cliff; castle, citadel, stronghold”) [and other forms] + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Rok, ro... 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 "rocky", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

react#5,538shade#5,548teens#5,557Tommy#5,560

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

retain8 variantsparade8 variantswarrior8 variantsworries8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list