weak
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
4 characters
Language
English
word origin
Source
Wiktionary
open dictionary
Access
Free
no sign-up needed
Detailed reference entry for the English word "weak", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "weak" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "weak" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
weak is anEnglishadj. It means: Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability. Pronounced /wiːk/. It ranks #2,237 in English word frequency. Often confused with web and wet.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | weak |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adj |
| IPA | /wiːk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,237 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for weak is 4 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /wiːk/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,237 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 19 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for weak, with forms such as "ewak", "weakk", and "weka". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "web", "wet", "wee", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English weyk, wayk, weik, waik, from Old Norse veikr (“weak”), from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz (“weak, yielded, pliant, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to bend, wind”). Cognate with Old English wāc (“weak, bendsome”), Saterland Frisia… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is weak, spelled W-E-A-K, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
- 2Unable to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain.
- 3Limp, soft.
- 4Unable to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable.
- 5Having a strong, irrepressible emotional love for someone or (less often) something; sentimentally affected by such love.
- 6Dilute, lacking in taste or potency.
- 7Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:
- 8Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:
- 9Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:
- 10That does not ionize completely into anions and cations in a solution.
- 11One of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay.
- 12Bad or uncool.
- 13Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a strong statement which implies it.)
- 14Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
- 15Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained.
- 16Lacking in vigour or expression.
- 17Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.
- 18Tending towards lower prices.
- 19Lacking contrast.
Etymology
From Middle English weyk, wayk, weik, waik, from Old Norse veikr (“weak”), from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz (“weak, yielded, pliant, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to bend, wind”). Cognate with Old English wāc (“weak, bendsome”), Saterland Frisian wook (“soft, gentle, tender”), West Frisian weak (“soft”), Dutch week (“soft, weak”), German weich (“weak, soft”), Norwegian veik (“weak”), Swedish vek (“weak, pliant”), Icelandic veikur (“bendsome, weak”). Related to Old English wīcan (“to yield”). Doublet of week and wick.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ewak,weakk,weka,wweak
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for weak
Misspelling Variants of "weak"
Frequency rank: #2,237 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "weak"?
What does "weak" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "weak"?
How do you pronounce "weak"?
What is the origin of the word "weak"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter W in our English index: