yikes
/jaɪks/
"yikes" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“yikes” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,393 in English word frequency and used as an interjection.
- #16,393
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Expression of shock and alarm.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | yikes |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /jaɪks/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #16,393 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “yikes” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for yikes is 5 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /jaɪks/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,393 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for yikes, with forms such as "iykes", "yieks", and "yikess". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Yves", "yoke", "Ypres", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested from mid-20th century, perhaps derived from yoicks, a hunting call used to urge hounds after a fox, which is attested from 1765–1775, that also is sometimes used as an exclamation of excitement or triumph. Yoicks is perhaps related to the earlier h… The correct English form is yikes, spelled Y-I-K-E-S.
Definition
- 1Expression of shock and alarm.
- 2Expression of empathy with unpleasant or undesirable circumstances.
Etymology
Attested from mid-20th century, perhaps derived from yoicks, a hunting call used to urge hounds after a fox, which is attested from 1765–1775, that also is sometimes used as an exclamation of excitement or triumph. Yoicks is perhaps related to the earlier hoicks. Hoicks (alternatively hoick, hoic or hoik) is a variant of hyke, which was used as an exclamation of encouragement to hounds hunting deer. Further etymology unknown. Alternatively, it may be derived from yipes, which is an earlier exclamation of similar usage as yikes (and is often considered to be an alternative form of yikes). Yipes may be derived from yipe, which itself may be derived from the yie sound often used to express pain or dismay, with the -p adding onto it in the same way as yep and nope. Or, yipes may be derived from the yipping sound that dogs make. Or, possibly a conflation of both of the previous.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iykes,yieks,yikess,yikkes,yikse,ykies,yyikes
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of yikes - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "yikes"?
What does "yikes" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "yikes"?
How do you pronounce "yikes"?
What is the origin of the word "yikes"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “yikes”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Y-I-K-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /jaɪks/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Yves” - see the side-by-side comparison. yikes vs Yves
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.