tuck

/tʌk/

//tʌk// verb

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

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

The verdict

“tuck” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,039. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,039
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pull or gather up (an item of fabric).

Corpus desk

Index EN-tuck · tuck · English

tuck · rank #14,039 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,039
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH trailing

Nearest frequency peer: trailing (-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 “tuck”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tuck” 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).

tuck vs tug
50% similar
tuck vs Tue
25% similar
tuck vs tum
50% similar

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

Key facts for tuck
PropertyValue
Headwordtuck
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/tʌk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#14,039
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tuck”

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).tucklands 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 “trailing” (#14,038), “turbulence” (#14,040), “titanium” (#14,037). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tuck” is #14,039. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around tuck (IPA /tʌk/), averb. Corpus frequency is #14,039 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for tuck, with forms such as "tcuk", "ttuck", and "tucck". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tug", "Tue", "tum", 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 tuken, touken (“to torment, to stretch (cloth)”), from Old English tūcian (“to torment, vex”) and Middle Dutch tucken (“to tuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *teuh-, *teug- (“to draw, pull”) (compare also *tukkōną), from Proto-Indo-Europea… The correct English form is tuck, spelled T-U-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    To pull or gather up (an item of fabric).
  2. 2
    To push into a snug position; to place somewhere safe, or handy, or somewhat hidden.
  3. 3
    To eat; to consume.
  4. 4
    To fit neatly.
  5. 5
    To curl into a ball; to fold up and hold one's legs.
  6. 6
    To sew folds; to make a tuck or tucks in.
  7. 7
    To full, as cloth.
  8. 8
    Of a drag queen, trans woman, etc., to conceal one's penis and testicles, as with a gaff or by fastening them down with adhesive tape.
  9. 9
    To keep the thumb in position while moving the rest of the hand over it to continue playing piano keys that are outside the thumb (when playing scales).
  10. 10
    Ellipsis of Mach tuck.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Tuck in your shirt. I tucked in the sheet. He tucked the $10 bill into his shirt pocket.
  2. She tucked her hair behind her ear.

Etymology

From Middle English tuken, touken (“to torment, to stretch (cloth)”), from Old English tūcian (“to torment, vex”) and Middle Dutch tucken (“to tuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *teuh-, *teug- (“to draw, pull”) (compare also *tukkōną), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Akin to Old High German zucchen (“to snatch, tug”), zuchôn (“to jerk”), German Low German tuken (“to tug, pluck, grab and pull towards”), Old English tēon (“to draw, pull, train”). Doublet of touch.

Antonyms

untuck

This word in other languages

encajar(Español)rentrer(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • tcuk
  • ttuck
  • tucck
  • tuckk
  • tukc
  • utck

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

tcuk2ttuck1tucck1tuckk1tukc2utck2
Edit distance from "tuck"

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 "tuck"?
"tuck" is spelled T-U-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /tʌk/.
What does "tuck" mean?
As a verb, "tuck" means: To pull or gather up (an item of fabric).
What words are commonly confused with "tuck"?
"tuck" is commonly confused with "tug", "Tue", "tum". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tuck"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tuck" is /tʌk/. 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 "tuck"?
From Middle English tuken, touken (“to torment, to stretch (cloth)”), from Old English tūcian (“to torment, vex”) and Middle Dutch tucken (“to tuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *teuh-, *teug- (“to draw, pull”) (compare also *tukkōną), from Proto-In... 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 "tuck", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

ware#14,048slid#14,024Cain#14,081casa#14,082

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

algae6 variantsAriel6 variantsBowie6 variantsReggie6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list