course

/kɔːs/

//kɔːs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“course” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #343. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#343
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sequence of events.

Corpus desk

Index EN-course · course · English

course · rank #343 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #343
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH working

Nearest frequency peer: working (-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 “course”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “course” 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).

course vs cure
67% similar
course vs court
67% similar
course vs curve
67% similar

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

Key facts for course
PropertyValue
Headwordcourse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɔːs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#343
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “course”

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).courselands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “working” (#342), “games” (#344), “story” (#341). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “course” is #343. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around course (IPA /kɔːs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #343 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 25 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for course, with forms such as "ccourse", "coruse", and "coures". 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, "cure", "court", "curve", 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 cours, from Old French cours, from Latin cursus (“course of a race”), from currō (“run”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of cursus and cour. The correct English form is course, spelled C-O-U-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sequence of events.
  2. 2
    A sequence of events.
  3. 3
    A sequence of events.
  4. 4
    A sequence of events.
  5. 5
    A sequence of events.
  6. 6
    A sequence of events.
  7. 7
    A sequence of events.
  8. 8
    A sequence of events.
  9. 9
    A sequence of events.
  10. 10
    A sequence of events.
  11. 11
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  12. 12
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  13. 13
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  14. 14
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  15. 15
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  16. 16
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  17. 17
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  18. 18
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  19. 19
    A path that something or someone moves along.
  20. 20
    The lowest square sail in a fully rigged mast, often named according to the mast.
  21. 21
    Menses.
  22. 22
    A row or file of objects.
  23. 23
    A row or file of objects.
  24. 24
    A row or file of objects.
  25. 25
    One or more strings on some musical instruments (such as the guitar, lute or vihuela): if multiple, then closely spaced, tuned in unison or octaves and intended to be played together.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The normal course of events seems to be just one damned thing after another.
  2. The course of true love never did run smooth.

Etymology

From Middle English cours, from Old French cours, from Latin cursus (“course of a race”), from currō (“run”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of cursus and cour.

This word in other languages

transcurso(Español)cours(Français)Kurs(Deutsch)curso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccourse
  • coruse
  • coures
  • courrse
  • coursse
  • cousre
  • cuorse
  • ocurse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccourse1coruse2coures2courrse1coursse1cousre2cuorse2ocurse2
Edit distance from "course"

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 "course"?
"course" is spelled C-O-U-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɔːs/.
What does "course" mean?
As a noun, "course" means: A sequence of events.
What words are commonly confused with "course"?
"course" is commonly confused with "cure", "court", "curve". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "course"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "course" is /kɔːs/. 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 "course"?
From Middle English cours, from Old French cours, from Latin cursus (“course of a race”), from currō (“run”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of cursus and cour. 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 "course", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

health#345within#351thanks#362united#323

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

story8 variantsblack8 variantssocial8 variantsthank8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list