thickness

/ˈθɪknəs/

//ˈθɪknəs// noun

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

"thickness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thickness” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,464. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,464
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The property of being thick (in dimension).

Corpus desk

Index EN-thickness · thickness · English

thickness · rank #10,464 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,464
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH that'd

Nearest frequency peer: that'd (-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 “thickness”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “thickness” 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
Key facts for thickness
PropertyValue
Headwordthickness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈθɪknəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#10,464
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “thickness”

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).thicknesslands 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 “that'd” (#10,463), “textile” (#10,462), “tossed” (#10,466). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thickness” is #10,464. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around thickness (IPA /ˈθɪknəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,464 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for thickness, with forms such as "htickness", "thcikness", and "thhickness". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English thikkenesse, thiknesse, from Old English þicnes (“thickness, viscosity, density, hardness; obscurity, cloud, darkness; thicket; depth, a thick body, anything thick or heavy”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwīnassī (“thickness”), equivale… The correct English form is thickness, spelled T-H-I-C-K-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The property of being thick (in dimension).
  2. 2
    A measure of how thick (in dimension) something is.
  3. 3
    A layer.
  4. 4
    The quality of being thick (in consistency).
  5. 5
    The property of being thick (slow to understand).
  6. 6
    The minimum number of planar subgraphs which a given graph can decompose into.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The thickness of the Earth's crust varies from two to 70 kilometres.
  2. Guitar picks come in different thicknesses.

Etymology

From Middle English thikkenesse, thiknesse, from Old English þicnes (“thickness, viscosity, density, hardness; obscurity, cloud, darkness; thicket; depth, a thick body, anything thick or heavy”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwīnassī (“thickness”), equivalent to thick + -ness. Cognate with West Frisian tsjokkens (“thickness”), Old High German dickinessī, dikkinissi, diknissi (“thickness, density”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English crassitude (“thickness”) from Latin crassitūdō (“thickness”).

Synonyms

fatnessdepthlayerstratumdensityviscositydensenessslownessstupiditythickheadedness

Antonyms

fluidityliquidityrunninessthinnesswaterinessmental acuitymental agilityquick-wittednesssharpness

This word in other languages

grosor(Español)épaisseur(Français)Dicke(Deutsch)espessura(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htickness
  • thcikness
  • thhickness
  • thicckness
  • thickenss
  • thickkness
  • thicknes
  • thicknness
  • thicknses
  • thicnkess
  • thikcness
  • tihckness
  • tthickness

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

htickness2thcikness2thhickness1thicckness1thickenss2thickkness1thicknes1thicknness1
Edit distance from "thickness"

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 "thickness"?
"thickness" is spelled T-H-I-C-K-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈθɪknəs/.
What does "thickness" mean?
As a noun, "thickness" means: The property of being thick (in dimension).
What are common misspellings of "thickness"?
Common misspellings include "htickness", "thcikness", "thhickness", "thicckness", "thickenss". The correct spelling is "thickness".
How do you pronounce "thickness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thickness" is /ˈθɪknəs/. 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 "thickness"?
From Middle English thikkenesse, thiknesse, from Old English þicnes (“thickness, viscosity, density, hardness; obscurity, cloud, darkness; thicket; depth, a thick body, anything thick or heavy”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwīnassī (“thickness”)... 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 "thickness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

telescope#10,458supplying#10,456valuation#10,474shattered#10,446

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

splendid13 variantsallocation13 variantsamusement13 variantssampling13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list