cloche

/klɒʃ/

//klɒʃ// noun

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

"cloche" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cloche” is uncommon English (frequency #83,121 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,121
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cloche · cloche · English

cloche · rank #83,121 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #83,121
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cockfighting

Nearest frequency peer: cockfighting (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “cloche”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cloche” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cloche
PropertyValue
Headwordcloche
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/klɒʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#83,121
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cloche” in English

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).clochefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “cockfighting” (#83,122), “Cliftonville” (#83,119), “codifying” (#83,123). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cloche” is #83,121. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cloche is uncommon English at frequency #83,121 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /klɒʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

cloche doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French cloche (“bell”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“bell”). Doublet of cloak and clock. The correct English form is cloche, spelled C-L-O-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.
  2. 2
    A bell-shaped, close-fitting women’s hat with a deep rounded crown and narrow rim.
  3. 3
    A tableware cover, often resembling a bell.
  4. 4
    An apparatus used in controlling certain aeroplanes, consisting principally of a steering column mounted with a universal joint at the base, which is bell-shaped and has attached to it the cables for controlling the wing-warping devices, elevator planes, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Old window screens were shade cloth; flattened cardboard and carpet offcuts were weed matting; plastic bottles, when sliced in half, became little cloches to fit over seedlings to keep them warm.
  2. Faux 19th-century bartenders in sleeve garters and baroque facial hair ply their trade in pre-Prohibition bars. Women wearing cloche hats order sidecars at speakeasies.

Etymology

Borrowed from French cloche (“bell”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“bell”). Doublet of cloak and clock.

This word in other languages

campana(Español)cloche(Français)

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 "cloche"?
"cloche" is spelled C-L-O-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /klɒʃ/.
What does "cloche" mean?
As a noun, "cloche" means: A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.
How do you pronounce "cloche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cloche" is /klɒʃ/. 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 "cloche"?
Borrowed from French cloche (“bell”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“bell”). Doublet of cloak and clock. 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 "cloche", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

comber#83,128comity#83,132bunion#83,082dither#83,191

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list