trip

/tɹɪp/

//tɹɪp// noun

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

"trip" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“trip” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,356. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,356
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A journey; an excursion or jaunt.

Corpus desk

Index EN-trip · trip · English

trip · rank #1,356 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,356
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH sit

Nearest frequency peer: sit (-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 “trip”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “trip” 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).

trip vs try
50% similar
trip vs tru
50% similar
trip vs TRP
0% similar

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

Key facts for trip
PropertyValue
Headwordtrip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹɪp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,356
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “trip”

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).triplands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “sit” (#1,355), “associated” (#1,357), “shown” (#1,354). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “trip” is #1,356. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around trip (IPA /tɹɪp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,356 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for trip, with forms such as "rtip", "tirp", and "trpi". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "try", "tru", "TRP", 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 trippen (“tread or step lightly and nimbly, skip, dance”), perhaps from Old French triper (“to hop or dance around, strike with the feet”), from a Frankish source; or alternatively from Middle Dutch trippen (“to skip, trip, hop, stamp, t… The correct English form is trip, spelled T-R-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A journey; an excursion or jaunt.
  2. 2
    A stumble or misstep.
  3. 3
    An error; a failure; a mistake.
  4. 4
    A period of time in which one experiences drug-induced reverie or hallucinations.
  5. 5
    Intense involvement in or enjoyment of a condition.
  6. 6
    A faux pas, a social error.
  7. 7
    A mechanical cutout device.
  8. 8
    A trip-switch or cut-out.
  9. 9
    A quick, light step; a lively movement of the feet; a skip.
  10. 10
    The act of tripping someone, or causing them to lose their footing.
  11. 11
    A single tack while beating (sailing to windward).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We made a trip to the beach.
  2. I sold my horse and took a trip to Ceylon and back on an Orient boat as a passenger,

Etymology

From Middle English trippen (“tread or step lightly and nimbly, skip, dance”), perhaps from Old French triper (“to hop or dance around, strike with the feet”), from a Frankish source; or alternatively from Middle Dutch trippen (“to skip, trip, hop, stamp, trample”) (> Modern Dutch trippelen (“to toddle, patter, trip”)). Akin to Middle Low German trippen ( > Danish trippe (“to trip”), Swedish trippa (“to mince, trip”)), West Frisian tripje (“to toddle, trip”), German trippeln (“to scurry”), Old English treppan (“to trample, tread”). Related also to trap, tramp.

This word in other languages

viaje(Español)voyage(Français)Reise(Deutsch)moca(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtip
  • tirp
  • trpi
  • trrip
  • ttrip

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of trip - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

rtip2tirp2trpi2trrip1ttrip1
Edit distance from "trip"

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 "trip"?
"trip" is spelled T-R-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹɪp/.
What does "trip" mean?
As a noun, "trip" means: A journey; an excursion or jaunt.
What words are commonly confused with "trip"?
"trip" is commonly confused with "try", "tru", "TRP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "trip"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "trip" is /tɹɪp/. 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 "trip"?
From Middle English trippen (“tread or step lightly and nimbly, skip, dance”), perhaps from Old French triper (“to hop or dance around, strike with the feet”), from a Frankish source; or alternatively from Middle Dutch trippen (“to skip, trip, hop... 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 "trip", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cars#1,361grow#1,344glad#1,342laws#1,370

Similar misspelling depth

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

carry5 variantsmale5 variantsspot5 variantswe'll5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list