stack

/stæk/

//stæk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“stack” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,626. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,626
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A pile.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stack · stack · English

stack · rank #6,626 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,626
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH speeds

Nearest frequency peer: speeds (-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 “stack”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “stack” 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).

stack vs stay
60% similar
stack vs star
60% similar
stack vs suck
60% similar

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

Key facts for stack
PropertyValue
Headwordstack
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stæk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,626
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stack”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).stacklands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “speeds” (#6,625), “stance” (#6,627), “spam” (#6,624). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stack” is #6,626. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around stack (IPA /stæk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,626 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 22 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for stack, with forms such as "satck", "sstack", and "stacck". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "stay", "star", "suck", 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 stack, stacke, stakke, stak, from Old Norse stakkr (“a barn; haystack; heap; pile”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“a barn; rick; haystack”). The data structure sense is a calque of Dutch stapel, introduced by Edsger W. Dijkstra. Cognate… The correct English form is stack, spelled S-T-A-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A pile.
  2. 2
    A pile.
  3. 3
    A pile.
  4. 4
    A pile.
  5. 5
    A pile.
  6. 6
    A smokestack.
  7. 7
    In computing.
  8. 8
    In computing.
  9. 9
    In computing.
  10. 10
    In computing.
  11. 11
    A generalization of schemes in algebraic geometry and of sheaves.
  12. 12
    A coastal landform, consisting of a large vertical column of rock in the sea.
  13. 13
    Compactly spaced bookshelves used to house large collections of books.
  14. 14
    A large amount of an object.
  15. 15
    A pile of rifles or muskets in a cone shape.
  16. 16
    The amount of money a player has on the table.
  17. 17
    In architecture.
  18. 18
    In architecture.
  19. 19
    A fall or crash, a prang.
  20. 20
    A blend of various dietary supplements or anabolic steroids with supposed synergistic benefits.
  21. 21
    A holding pattern, with aircraft circling one above the other as they wait to land.
  22. 22
    The quantity of a given item which fills up an inventory slot or bag.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But corn was housed, and beans were in the stack.
  2. Please bring me a chair from that stack in the corner.

Etymology

From Middle English stack, stacke, stakke, stak, from Old Norse stakkr (“a barn; haystack; heap; pile”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“a barn; rick; haystack”). The data structure sense is a calque of Dutch stapel, introduced by Edsger W. Dijkstra. Cognate with Icelandic stakkur (“stack”), Swedish stack (“stack”), Danish stak (“stack”), Norwegian stakk (“stack”). Related to stake and sauna.

This word in other languages

pila(Español)pile(Français)Stapel(Deutsch)pilha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satck
  • sstack
  • stacck
  • stackk
  • stakc
  • stcak
  • sttack
  • tsack

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

satck2sstack1stacck1stackk1stakc2stcak2sttack1tsack2
Edit distance from "stack"

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 "stack"?
"stack" is spelled S-T-A-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /stæk/.
What does "stack" mean?
As a noun, "stack" means: A pile.
What words are commonly confused with "stack"?
"stack" is commonly confused with "stay", "star", "suck". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stack"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stack" is /stæk/. 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 "stack"?
From Middle English stack, stacke, stakke, stak, from Old Norse stakkr (“a barn; haystack; heap; pile”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“a barn; rick; haystack”). The data structure sense is a calque of Dutch stapel, introduced by Edsger W. Dijkstr... 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 "stack", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

shook#6,618pills#6,606aging#6,647penis#6,605

Similar misspelling depth

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

savage8 variantsretire8 variantsWallace8 variantsblows8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list