yuck

/jʌk/

//jʌk// intj

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

The verdict

“yuck” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,037. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,037
frequency rank, English
366
“Y” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Uttered to indicate disgust usually toward an objectionable taste or odour.

Corpus desk

Index EN-yuck · yuck · English

yuck · rank #27,037 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,037
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 366
  • PHOTO-FINISH yakuza

Nearest frequency peer: yakuza (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “yuck”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “yuck” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

yuck vs yup
50% similar
yuck vs yum
50% similar
yuck vs Yun
25% similar

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

Key facts for yuck
PropertyValue
Headwordyuck
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/jʌk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#27,037
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “yuck”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).yucklands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “yakuza” (#27,036), “ze” (#27,038), “xenophobic” (#27,035). Among 366 “Y” headwords, “yuck” is #27,037. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around yuck (IPA /jʌk/), aninterjection. Corpus frequency is #27,037 among 366 “Y” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Uttered to indicate disgust usually toward an objectionable taste or odour.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for yuck, with forms such as "uyck", "ycuk", and "yucck". 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, "yup", "yum", "Yun", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Perhaps imitative. Akin to Dutch jakkes (“disgusting”). First appeared in the 1960s. Compare also Scots yeuk (“anything that disgusts”), Middle English yuke (“an itchy skin disease" akin to middle Dutch "joke" and modern Dutch "jeuk"”) . The correct English form is yuck, spelled Y-U-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Uttered to indicate disgust usually toward an objectionable taste or odour.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how yuck appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Yuck! This peanut butter is disgusting!

Etymology

Perhaps imitative. Akin to Dutch jakkes (“disgusting”). First appeared in the 1960s. Compare also Scots yeuk (“anything that disgusts”), Middle English yuke (“an itchy skin disease" akin to middle Dutch "joke" and modern Dutch "jeuk"”) .

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • uyck
  • ycuk
  • yucck
  • yuckk
  • yukc
  • yyuck

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of yuck - 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.

uyck2ycuk2yucck1yuckk1yukc2yyuck1
Edit distance from "yuck"

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 "yuck"?
"yuck" is spelled Y-U-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /jʌk/.
What does "yuck" mean?
As an interjection, "yuck" means: Uttered to indicate disgust usually toward an objectionable taste or odour.
What words are commonly confused with "yuck"?
"yuck" is commonly confused with "yup", "yum", "Yun". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "yuck"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yuck" is /jʌk/. 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 "yuck"?
Perhaps imitative. Akin to Dutch jakkes (“disgusting”). First appeared in the 1960s. Compare also Scots yeuk (“anything that disgusts”), Middle English yuke (“an itchy skin disease" akin to middle Dutch "joke" and modern Dutch "jeuk"”) . 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "yuck", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list