corpse

/kɔːps/

//kɔːps// noun

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

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

The verdict

“corpse” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,184. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,184
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A dead body, especially that of a human as opposed to an animal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-corpse · corpse · English

corpse · rank #10,184 · 9 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,184
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cons

Nearest frequency peer: cons (-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 “corpse”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “corpse” 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).

corpse vs curse
67% similar
corpse vs coupe
67% similar
corpse vs coups
67% similar

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

Key facts for corpse
PropertyValue
Headwordcorpse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɔːps/
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,184
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “corpse”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).corpselands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cons” (#10,183), “crab” (#10,185), “concludes” (#10,182). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “corpse” is #10,184. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around corpse (IPA /kɔːps/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,184 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for corpse, with forms such as "ccorpse", "coprse", and "corpes". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "curse", "coupe", "coups", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from earlier corse, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Displaced native English likam and lich. The ⟨p⟩ was inserted due to the original Latin spelling. Doublet of corps and corpus, and distantly of riff (via Proto-Indo-E… The correct English form is corpse, spelled C-O-R-P-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dead body, especially that of a human as opposed to an animal.
  2. 2
    The dead body of any animal with flesh; the dead body of a vertebrate; a carcass.
  3. 3
    A human body in general, whether living or dead.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, / And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them, / I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war, […]
  2. Cantharidin, although readily decomposed by chemical agents, is so permanent in the body that it has been detected in the corpse of a cat eighty-four days after death.

Etymology

From Middle English, from earlier corse, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Displaced native English likam and lich. The ⟨p⟩ was inserted due to the original Latin spelling. Doublet of corps and corpus, and distantly of riff (via Proto-Indo-European). The verb sense derives from the notion of being unable to control laughter while acting as dead body.

Synonyms

anatomybodycadavercarcasscarrioncorpsecorseDBdog meatdustlichoffalrelicsreliquiaeremainsstiffworm food

This word in other languages

cuerpo(Español)cadavre(Français)Leiche(Deutsch)cadáver(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccorpse
  • coprse
  • corpes
  • corppse
  • corpsse
  • corrpse
  • corspe
  • cropse
  • ocrpse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of corpse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccorpse1coprse2corpes2corppse1corpsse1corrpse1corspe2cropse2
Edit distance from "corpse"

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 "corpse"?
"corpse" is spelled C-O-R-P-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɔːps/.
What does "corpse" mean?
As a noun, "corpse" means: A dead body, especially that of a human as opposed to an animal.
What words are commonly confused with "corpse"?
"corpse" is commonly confused with "curse", "coupe", "coups". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "corpse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "corpse" is /kɔːps/. 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 "corpse"?
From Middle English, from earlier corse, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Displaced native English likam and lich. The ⟨p⟩ was inserted due to the original Latin spelling. Doublet of corps and corpus, and distantly of riff (via Pr... 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 "corpse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Darwin#10,187Claude#10,180Dawson#10,188bypass#10,172

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

duchess9 variantsbehold9 variantselders9 variantswhales9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list