# access

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈæksɛs/ · frequency rank #940

## Definitions
1. A way or means of approaching or entering; an entrance; a passage.
2. The act of approaching or entering; an advance.
3. The right or ability of approaching or entering; admittance; admission; accessibility.
4. The quality of being easy to approach or enter.
5. Admission to sexual intercourse.
6. An increase by addition; accession
7. An onset, attack, or fit of disease; an ague fit.
8. An outburst of an emotion; a paroxysm; a fit of passion.
9. The right of a noncustodial parent to visit their child.
10. The process of locating data in memory.
11. Connection to or communication with a computer program or to the Internet.
12. Complicity or assent.

## Etymology
From Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) + cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.

## Easily confused with
- **aces** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-aces)
- **acres** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-acres)
- **aches** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-aches)
- **across** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-across)
- **assess** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-assess)
- **accuse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-accuse)
- **actress** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-actress)
- **accuses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-accuses)
- **accessed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-accessed)
- **accesses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/access-vs-accesses)
- **accept** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/accept-vs-access)
- **accent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/accent-vs-access)
- **accepts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/accepts-vs-access)
- **accents** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/accents-vs-access)
- **abscess** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abscess-vs-access)

## Common misspellings (5)
`acces`, `accses`, `acecss`, `acess`, `cacess`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/access