tick
/tɪk/
"tick" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tick” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,678. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #9,678
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.
Corpus desk
Index EN-tick · tick · English
tick · rank #9,678 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,678
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH traced
Nearest frequency peer: traced (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “tick”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- sufficiently
sufficiently
90,326 corpus weight
- thankfully
thankfully
90,325 corpus weight
- tick
tick
90,323 corpus weight
- traced
traced
90,322 corpus weight
- Trent
Trent
90,321 corpus weight
- trusts
trusts
90,320 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “tick” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | tick |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɪk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #9,678 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tick” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around tick (IPA /tɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,678 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for tick, with forms such as "itck", "tcik", and "ticck". 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, "TK", "tip", "tie", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tyke, teke, from Old English ticia (“parasitic animal, tick”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīkō, compare Dutch teek, German Zecke. The correct English form is tick, spelled T-I-C-K.
Definition
- 1A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how tick appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Sucking up all you can / Sucking up all you can suck and suck / Working up under my patience like a little tick / Fat little parasite (parasite) / Suck me dry / My fruit is bruised and borrowed / You thieving bastards / You have turned my blood cold and bitter
Etymology
From Middle English tyke, teke, from Old English ticia (“parasitic animal, tick”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīkō, compare Dutch teek, German Zecke.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- itck
- tcik
- ticck
- tickk
- tikc
- ttick
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tick - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "tick"?
What does "tick" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "tick"?
How do you pronounce "tick"?
What is the origin of the word "tick"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tick", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "tick". Here's where to go from here.
- "tick" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "TK". View pair
- 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #9,678 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.