exclusive or
"exclusive-or" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“exclusive or” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Exclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two predicates, one is true and one is false (without specifying which is which); contrasted with inclusive or, which does not imply that on...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | exclusive or |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “exclusive or” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
exclusive or is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for exclusive or, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: exclusive + or. The correct English form is exclusive or, spelled E-X-C-L-U-S-I-V-E- -O-R.
Definition
- 1Exclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two predicates, one is true and one is false (without specifying which is which); contrasted with inclusive or, which does not imply that one must be false.
- 2Exclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two or more predicates, an odd number are true (without specifying which or how many); contrasted with inclusive or, which indicates only that one or more is true.
- 3An exclusive disjunction; the result of applying the above-described exclusive or to two or more predicates; contrasted with an inclusive or, which is the result of applying an inclusive or.
Etymology
exclusive + or.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “exclusive or”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X-C-L-U-S-I-V-E- -O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.