fete

/feɪt/

//feɪt// noun

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

"fete" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fete” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #42,639) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#42,639
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A festival open to the public, the proceeds from which are often given to charity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fete · fete · English

fete · rank #42,639 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,639
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fearlessly

Nearest frequency peer: fearlessly (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “fete”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “fete” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

fete vs few
50% similar
fete vs fit
50% similar
fete vs foe
50% similar

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

Key facts for fete
PropertyValue
Headwordfete
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/feɪt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#42,639
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “fete”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).fetelands 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 “fearlessly” (#42,638), “farina” (#42,637), “FARC” (#42,636). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fete” is #42,639. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fete is neighbouring look-alikes ("few", "fit", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /feɪt/. Frequency #42,639 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for fete, with forms such as "efte", "fette", and "ffete". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "few", "fit", "foe", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: * The noun derives from French fête. Doublet of feast, fiesta, and fest. * The verb derives from French fêter. The correct English form is fete, spelled F-E-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A festival open to the public, the proceeds from which are often given to charity.
  2. 2
    A feast, celebration or carnival.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The final fete of the year was held at the Plymouth Hoe on 20 July, where fine weather and crowds of people ensured much support for local charities and boosted club finds.

Etymology

* The noun derives from French fête. Doublet of feast, fiesta, and fest. * The verb derives from French fêter.

This word in other languages

feria(Español)kermesse(Français)quermesse(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efte
  • fette
  • ffete
  • ftee

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

efte2fette1ffete1ftee2
Edit distance from "fete"

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 "fete"?
"fete" is spelled F-E-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /feɪt/.
What does "fete" mean?
As a noun, "fete" means: A festival open to the public, the proceeds from which are often given to charity.
What words are commonly confused with "fete"?
"fete" is commonly confused with "few", "fit", "foe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fete"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fete" is /feɪt/. 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 "fete"?
* The noun derives from French fête. Doublet of feast, fiesta, and fest. * The verb derives from French fêter. 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 "fete", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

FARC#42,636fMRI#42,643foie#42,645gaff#42,659

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list