egret

/ˈiːɡɹɪt/

//ˈiːɡɹɪt// noun

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

"egret" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“egret” is uncommon English (frequency #65,084 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,084
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various wading birds of the genera Egretta or Ardea that includes herons, many of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season.

Corpus desk

Index EN-egret · egret · English

egret · rank #65,084 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,084
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH EFTA

Nearest frequency peer: EFTA (-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 “egret”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for egret
PropertyValue
Headwordegret
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈiːɡɹɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#65,084
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “egret” in English

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).egretfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “EFTA” (#65,083), “Elson” (#65,085), “Eeyore” (#65,082). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “egret” is #65,084. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

egret is uncommon English at frequency #65,084 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈiːɡɹɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for egret in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman egret, aigrette (“egret”), from Old Occitan aigreta, diminutive of aigron (“heron”), from Medieval Latin hairo, from Frankish *haigro (“heron”). Cognate with Old High German heigaro (“heron”), Old English hrāgra (“hero… The correct English form is egret, spelled E-G-R-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various wading birds of the genera Egretta or Ardea that includes herons, many of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season.
  2. 2
    A plume or tuft of feathers worn as a part of a headdress, or anything imitating such an ornament.
  3. 3
    The flying feathery or hairy crown of seeds or achenes, such as the down of the thistle.
  4. 4
    The crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Egrets picked their way through the grass, attentive and showy as fussy girlfriends at the cows' sides.

Etymology

From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman egret, aigrette (“egret”), from Old Occitan aigreta, diminutive of aigron (“heron”), from Medieval Latin hairo, from Frankish *haigro (“heron”). Cognate with Old High German heigaro (“heron”), Old English hrāgra (“heron”). Doublet of aigrette. More at heron.

This word in other languages

garza(Español)aigrette(Français)Reiher(Deutsch)garça(Português)

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 "egret"?
"egret" is spelled E-G-R-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈiːɡɹɪt/.
What does "egret" mean?
As a noun, "egret" means: Any of various wading birds of the genera Egretta or Ardea that includes herons, many of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season.
How do you pronounce "egret"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "egret" is /ˈiːɡɹɪt/. 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 "egret"?
From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman egret, aigrette (“egret”), from Old Occitan aigreta, diminutive of aigron (“heron”), from Medieval Latin hairo, from Frankish *haigro (“heron”). Cognate with Old High German heigaro (“heron”), Old English hrā... 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 "egret", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Elson#65,085dumpy#65,074FUBAR#65,130Ginza#65,144

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list