yoke

/jəʊk/

//jəʊk// noun

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

"yoke" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“yoke” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,982 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#25,982
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Senses relating to a frame around the neck.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

yoke vs you
50% similar
yoke vs yoo
50% similar
yoke vs yon
50% similar

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

Key facts for yoke
PropertyValue
Headwordyoke
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/jəʊk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#25,982
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “yoke” 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). yoke lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for yoke is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /jəʊk/. Corpus data places it at rank #25,982 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 25 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for yoke, with forms such as "oyke", "ykoe", and "yoek". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "you", "yoo", "yon", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English yok, yoke, ȝok from Old English ġeoc (“yoke”), from Proto-Germanic *juką (“yoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (“yoke”), from *yewg- (“to join; to tie together, yoke”). Doublet of yuga, jugum, yoga and possibly yogh. Senses 3.1 (“are… The correct English form is yoke, spelled Y-O-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  2. 2
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  3. 3
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  4. 4
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  5. 5
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  6. 6
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  7. 7
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  8. 8
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  9. 9
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  10. 10
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  11. 11
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  12. 12
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  13. 13
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  14. 14
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  15. 15
    Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
  16. 16
    Senses relating to a pair of harnessed draught animals.
  17. 17
    Senses relating to a pair of harnessed draught animals.
  18. 18
    Senses relating to a pair of harnessed draught animals.
  19. 19
    Senses relating to a pair of harnessed draught animals.
  20. 20
    Senses relating to a pair of harnessed draught animals.
  21. 21
    Senses relating to a pair of harnessed draught animals.
  22. 22
    Senses relating to quantities, and other extended uses.
  23. 23
    Senses relating to quantities, and other extended uses.
  24. 24
    Senses relating to quantities, and other extended uses.
  25. 25
    Senses relating to quantities, and other extended uses.

Etymology

From Middle English yok, yoke, ȝok from Old English ġeoc (“yoke”), from Proto-Germanic *juką (“yoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (“yoke”), from *yewg- (“to join; to tie together, yoke”). Doublet of yuga, jugum, yoga and possibly yogh. Senses 3.1 (“area of arable land”) and 3.2 (“amount of work done with draught animals”) probably referred to the area of land that could generally be ploughed by yoked draught animals within a given time.

This word in other languages

yugo(Español)joug(Français)Joch(Deutsch)jugo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oyke,ykoe,yoek,yokke,yyoke

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of yoke - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

oyke2ykoe2yoek2yokke1yyoke1
Edit distance from "yoke"

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 "yoke"?
"yoke" is spelled Y-O-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /jəʊk/.
What does "yoke" mean?
As a noun, "yoke" means: Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
What words are commonly confused with "yoke"?
"yoke" is commonly confused with "you", "yoo", "yon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "yoke"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yoke" is /jəʊk/. 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 "yoke"?
From Middle English yok, yoke, ȝok from Old English ġeoc (“yoke”), from Proto-Germanic *juką (“yoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (“yoke”), from *yewg- (“to join; to tie together, yoke”). Doublet of yuga, jugum, yoga and possibly yogh. Senses... 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 “yoke”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is Y-O-K-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /jəʊk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “you” - see the side-by-side comparison. yoke vs you
  • 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.

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

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