Usk
"usk" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Usk” is uncommon English (frequency #75,533 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #75,533
- frequency rank, English
- 1,433
- “U” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A river in Powys and Monmouthshire, Wales, that empties into the Severn at Newport.
Corpus desk
Index EN-usk · Usk · English
Usk · rank #75,533 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #75,533
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,433
- PHOTO-FINISH urinalysis
Nearest frequency peer: urinalysis (-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 “Usk”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- unrighteous
unrighteous
24,473 corpus weight
- unscented
unscented
24,472 corpus weight
- uptrend
uptrend
24,470 corpus weight
- urinalysis
urinalysis
24,469 corpus weight
- Usk
Usk
24,468 corpus weight
- veena
veena
24,462 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “Usk” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Usk |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #75,533 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Usk” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Usk is uncommon English at frequency #75,533 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Usk has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle Welsh Wÿsk (modern Welsh Wysg), from Proto-Brythonic *Uɨsk, a river name perhaps originally meaning "abundant in fish". Cognate with the river names Esk, Exe, and Axe. The correct English form is Usk, spelled U-S-K.
Definition
- 1A river in Powys and Monmouthshire, Wales, that empties into the Severn at Newport.
- 2A town and community with a town council in Monmouthshire, Wales, on this river (OS grid ref SO3700).
Etymology
From Middle Welsh Wÿsk (modern Welsh Wysg), from Proto-Brythonic *Uɨsk, a river name perhaps originally meaning "abundant in fish". Cognate with the river names Esk, Exe, and Axe.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Usk", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "Usk". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #75,533 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "U" letter cohort. U–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.