uke

/juːk/

//juːk// noun

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

The verdict

“uke” is uncommon English (frequency #52,691 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,691
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Clipping of ukulele.

Corpus desk

Index EN-uke · uke · English

uke · rank #52,691 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,691
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH turpin

Nearest frequency peer: turpin (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “uke”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “uke” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for uke
PropertyValue
Headworduke
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/juːk/
Letters3
Frequency rank#52,691
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “uke” in English

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).ukefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “turpin” (#52,690), “unbuttoned” (#52,692), “Tubbs” (#52,688). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “uke” is #52,691. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

uke is uncommon English at frequency #52,691 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /juːk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Clipping of ukulele.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for uke, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is uke, spelled U-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Clipping of ukulele.

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 "uke"?
"uke" is spelled U-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /juːk/.
What does "uke" mean?
As a noun, "uke" means: Clipping of ukulele.
How do you pronounce "uke"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "uke" is /juːk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "uke" come from?
"uke" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "uke", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list