spoof

/spuːf/

//spuːf// noun

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

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

The verdict

“spoof” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,592. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,592
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spoof · spoof · English

spoof · rank #25,592 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,592
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spoilt

Nearest frequency peer: spoilt (-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 “spoof”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “spoof” 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).

spoof vs spot
60% similar
spoof vs sport
60% similar
spoof vs stood
60% similar

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

Key facts for spoof
PropertyValue
Headwordspoof
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spuːf/
Letters5
Frequency rank#25,592
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spoof”

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).spooflands 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 “spoilt” (#25,591), “sporty” (#25,593), “spindle” (#25,590). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spoof” is #25,592. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around spoof (IPA /spuːf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,592 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for spoof, with forms such as "psoof", "sopof", and "spof". 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, "spot", "sport", "stood", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by the English comedian Arthur Roberts (1852–1933) in 1884 as the name of a card game involving deception and nonsense. The correct English form is spoof, spelled S-P-O-O-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank.
  2. 2
    An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank.
  3. 3
    A light parody.
  4. 4
    A drinking game in which players hold up to three (or another specified number of) coins hidden in a fist and attempt to guess the total number of coins held.
  5. 5
    Nonsense.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. “Rahther, I say. But you understand, of course, that I’m giving him a bit of spoof.” / “A bit of what?” / “Spoof—spoof. Is it possible that you have been here since Saturday without learning what ‘spoof’ means? It means to chaff, to joke. In the States the slang equivalent would be ‘to string’ someone.” / “How did you learn it?” / “A cabby told me about i…
  2. Don't click anything on that website! That whole site is a spoof! Call IT right now.

Etymology

Coined by the English comedian Arthur Roberts (1852–1933) in 1884 as the name of a card game involving deception and nonsense.

Synonyms

parodysatiresend-upsendup

This word in other languages

engaño(Español)duperie(Français)Parodie(Deutsch)persuasão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psoof
  • sopof
  • spof
  • spofo
  • spooff
  • sppoof
  • sspoof

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psoof2sopof2spof1spofo2spooff1sppoof1sspoof1
Edit distance from "spoof"

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 "spoof"?
"spoof" is spelled S-P-O-O-F. The IPA pronunciation is /spuːf/.
What does "spoof" mean?
As a noun, "spoof" means: An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank.
What words are commonly confused with "spoof"?
"spoof" is commonly confused with "spot", "sport", "stood". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spoof"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spoof" is /spuːf/. 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 "spoof"?
Coined by the English comedian Arthur Roberts (1852–1933) in 1884 as the name of a card game involving deception and nonsense. 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 "spoof", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sloth#25,579skunk#25,578sheik#25,572Tonga#25,618

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

seater7 variantstrope7 variantsYusuf7 variantspellet7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list