whoop

/wuːp/

//wuːp// noun

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

"whoop" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“whoop” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,551. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,551
frequency rank, English
12,113
“W” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A loud, eager cry, usually of joy.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

whoop vs woo
60% similar
whoop vs wop
60% similar
whoop vs wood
60% similar

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

Key facts for whoop
PropertyValue
Headwordwhoop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wuːp/
Letters5
Frequency rank#22,551
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “whoop” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). whoop lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around whoop (IPA /wuːp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,551 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for whoop, with forms such as "hwoop", "whhoop", and "whoopp". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "woo", "wop", "wood", 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 whopen, whowpen, howpen, houpen (“to whoop, cry out”), partially from Old French houper, hopper, houpper (“to shout”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwōpan, from Proto-Germanic *hwōpaną (“to boast, threaten”) (compare Gothic 𐍈𐍉𐍀𐌰𐌽 (ƕōpa… The correct English form is whoop, spelled W-H-O-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A loud, eager cry, usually of joy.
  2. 2
    A gasp, characteristic of whooping cough.
  3. 3
    A bump on a racetrack.

Etymology

From Middle English whopen, whowpen, howpen, houpen (“to whoop, cry out”), partially from Old French houper, hopper, houpper (“to shout”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwōpan, from Proto-Germanic *hwōpaną (“to boast, threaten”) (compare Gothic 𐍈𐍉𐍀𐌰𐌽 (ƕōpan, “to boast”), Old English hwōpan (“to threaten”)); and partially from Middle English wop (“weeping, lamentation”), from Old English wōp (“cry, outcry, shrieking, weeping, lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōp, from Proto-Germanic *wōpaz (“shout, cry, wail”) (compare Old Norse ópa (“to cry, scream, shout”), Gothic 𐍅𐍉𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wōpjan, “to cry out”)).

This word in other languages

hurlement(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hwoop,whhoop,whoopp,whop,whopo,wohop,wwhoop

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hwoop2whhoop1whoopp1whop1whopo2wohop2wwhoop1
Edit distance from "whoop"

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 "whoop"?
"whoop" is spelled W-H-O-O-P. The IPA pronunciation is /wuːp/.
What does "whoop" mean?
As a noun, "whoop" means: A loud, eager cry, usually of joy.
What words are commonly confused with "whoop"?
"whoop" is commonly confused with "woo", "wop", "wood". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "whoop"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "whoop" is /wuːp/. 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 "whoop"?
From Middle English whopen, whowpen, howpen, houpen (“to whoop, cry out”), partially from Old French houper, hopper, houpper (“to shout”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwōpan, from Proto-Germanic *hwōpaną (“to boast, threaten”) (compare Gothic 𐍈𐍉𐍀... 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.

Using “whoop”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-H-O-O-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /wuːp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “woo” - see the side-by-side comparison. whoop vs woo
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list