tink
/tɪŋk/
"tink" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tink” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #40,928 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #40,928
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To emit a high-pitched sharp or metallic noise.
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 | tink |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /tɪŋk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #40,928 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tink” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tink is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tɪŋk/. Corpus data places it at rank #40,928 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To emit a high-pitched sharp or metallic noise.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for tink, with forms such as "itnk", "tikn", and "tinkk". 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, "TN", "TK", "tip", 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 tinken, possibly from Old English *tincian, equivalent to tin + -k. Compare Dutch tinken (“to tink, toll, strike the bells of a clock”), German Low German tinken (“to tink”). Compare also English ting. The correct English form is tink, spelled T-I-N-K.
Definition
- 1To emit a high-pitched sharp or metallic noise.
Etymology
From Middle English tinken, possibly from Old English *tincian, equivalent to tin + -k. Compare Dutch tinken (“to tink, toll, strike the bells of a clock”), German Low German tinken (“to tink”). Compare also English ting.
Synonyms
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: itnk,tikn,tinkk,tinnk,tnik,ttink
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tink - 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.
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 "tink"?
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Using “tink”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-I-N-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɪŋk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “TN” - see the side-by-side comparison. tink vs TN
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.