tip

/tɪp/

//tɪp// noun

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

"tip" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tip” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,767) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,767
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The extreme end of something, especially when pointed; e.g. the sharp end of a pencil.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tip · tip · English

tip · rank #2,767 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,767
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH surely

Nearest frequency peer: surely (-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 “tip”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tip” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

tip vs to
33% similar
tip vs TV
0% similar
tip vs TL
0% similar

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

Key facts for tip
PropertyValue
Headwordtip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɪp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,767
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tip” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).tip lands 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. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for tip is neighbouring look-alikes ("to", "TV", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /tɪp/. Frequency #2,767 among 3,151 “T” headwords. 8 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

tip has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "to", "TV", "TL", 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 tip, typ, tippe (“tip”), related to Saterland Frisian Tip (“tip”), West Frisian tippe, tip (“tip”), Dutch tip (“tip”), German Low German Tip, Tippel (“tip”), dialectal German Zipf (“tip”) (diminutive Zipfel used in Standard German), Dani… The correct English form is tip, spelled T-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    The extreme end of something, especially when pointed; e.g. the sharp end of a pencil.
  2. 2
    A piece of metal, fabric or other material used to cover the top of something for protection, utility or decoration.
  3. 3
    The end of a bow of a stringed instrument that is not held.
  4. 4
    A small piece of meat.
  5. 5
    A piece of stiffened lining pasted on the inside of a hat crown.
  6. 6
    A thin, boarded brush made of camel's hair, used by gilders in lifting gold leaf.
  7. 7
    Synonym of eartip (“part of earbuds”).
  8. 8
    the glans penis

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the tip of one's nose
  2. When he woke up, about half an hour after, he called it to him again, but Dash only looked sheepish and wagged the tip of his tail.

Etymology

From Middle English tip, typ, tippe (“tip”), related to Saterland Frisian Tip (“tip”), West Frisian tippe, tip (“tip”), Dutch tip (“tip”), German Low German Tip, Tippel (“tip”), dialectal German Zipf (“tip”) (diminutive Zipfel used in Standard German), Danish tip (“tip”), Swedish tipp (“tip”), Icelandic typpi (“knob, pin, penis”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Timpe (“tip”), West Frisian timpe (“tip”), Old English tæppa (“tap, spigot”), Albanian thep (“tip, point”), Middle High German züpfel (“pointed end, tip”).

This word in other languages

punta(Español)bout(Français)Spitze(Deutsch)ponta(Português)

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 "tip"?
"tip" is spelled T-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /tɪp/.
What does "tip" mean?
As a noun, "tip" means: The extreme end of something, especially when pointed; e.g. the sharp end of a pencil.
What words are commonly confused with "tip"?
"tip" is commonly confused with "to", "TV", "TL". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tip"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tip" is /tɪp/. 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 "tip"?
From Middle English tip, typ, tippe (“tip”), related to Saterland Frisian Tip (“tip”), West Frisian tippe, tip (“tip”), Dutch tip (“tip”), German Low German Tip, Tippel (“tip”), dialectal German Zipf (“tip”) (diminutive Zipfel used in Standard Ger... 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 "tip", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

joy#2,738NFL#2,802wet#2,813ban#2,715

What to do next

You've looked up "tip". Here's where to go from here.

  • "tip" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "to". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,767 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list