wolf and wolfe are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. wolf means “any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs”. wolfe means “United States writer who has written extensively on American culture (born in 1931)”. wolf is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈwʊlf/
1.n.any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs
2.n.Austrian composer (1860-1903)
3.n.German classical scholar who claimed that the Iliad and Odyssey were composed by several authors (1759-1824)
/ˈwʊlf/
| wolf | wolfe | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈwʊlf/ | /ˈwʊlf/ |
| Said | wuulf | wuulf |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 4 | 5 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Senses | 6 | 2 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | Tom Wolfe, Thomas Wolfe, Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. |
Full entry for wolf · Full entry for wolfe · More comparisons
1.n.United States writer who has written extensively on American culture (born in 1931)
2.n.United States writer best known for his autobiographical novels (1900-1938)