fess
/fɛs/verb, noun, adjective
fess is spelled F-E-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, fess means “To confess; to admit” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fess?
| Letters | 4: F-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is fess?
Fess appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fess?
- /fɛs/
Fess has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fess.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fess
- fesses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- fessing participle, present
- fessed participle, past
- 'fess
- fesse
- feese
- 'fesses present, singular, he/she/it
- 'fessing participle, present
- 'fessed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fess mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To confess; to admit.
noun
- 1
A horizontal band across the middle of the shield.
adjective
- 1
UKProud; conceited.
- 2
UKLively; active; strong.
- 3
UKOf animals, bad-tempered, fierce.
noun
- 1
Initialism of functional endoscopic sinus surgery.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fess in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense band:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fess come from?
Clipping of confess.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).