fleck

/flɛk/

//flɛk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“fleck” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,748. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,748
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-fleck · fleck · English

fleck · rank #48,748 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #48,748
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH firmament

Nearest frequency peer: firmament (-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 “fleck”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fleck” 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).

fleck vs fuck
60% similar
fleck vs flew
60% similar
fleck vs fled
60% similar

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

Key facts for fleck
PropertyValue
Headwordfleck
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/flɛk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#48,748
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fleck”

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).flecklands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “firmament” (#48,747), “flipside” (#48,749), “figment” (#48,745). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fleck” is #48,748. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around fleck (IPA /flɛk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #48,748 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for fleck, with forms such as "felck", "ffleck", and "flcek". 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, "fuck", "flew", "fled", 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 *flekk, *flekke (attested in Middle English flekked (“spotted, flecked”)), from Old Norse flekkr (“spot”), from Proto-Germanic *flekka-. Cognate with Dutch vlek, German Fleck, Swedish fläck. The correct English form is fleck, spelled F-L-E-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flake.
  2. 2
    A lock, as of wool.
  3. 3
    A small spot or streak; a speckle.
  4. 4
    A small amount.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. two flecks of Lard cut with your knife
  2. With teeth they smooth their work, as on it slips, And flecks of wool stick to their wither'd lips

Etymology

From Middle English *flekk, *flekke (attested in Middle English flekked (“spotted, flecked”)), from Old Norse flekkr (“spot”), from Proto-Germanic *flekka-. Cognate with Dutch vlek, German Fleck, Swedish fläck.

This word in other languages

mota(Español)tache(Français)Fleck(Deutsch)mancha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • felck
  • ffleck
  • flcek
  • flecck
  • fleckk
  • flekc
  • flleck
  • lfeck

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fleck - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

felck2ffleck1flcek2flecck1fleckk1flekc2flleck1lfeck2
Edit distance from "fleck"

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 "fleck"?
"fleck" is spelled F-L-E-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /flɛk/.
What does "fleck" mean?
As a noun, "fleck" means: A flake.
What words are commonly confused with "fleck"?
"fleck" is commonly confused with "fuck", "flew", "fled". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fleck"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fleck" is /flɛk/. 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 "fleck"?
From Middle English *flekk, *flekke (attested in Middle English flekked (“spotted, flecked”)), from Old Norse flekkr (“spot”), from Proto-Germanic *flekka-. Cognate with Dutch vlek, German Fleck, Swedish fläck. 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 "fleck", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

fossa#48,755Fredo#48,756etude#48,731Geist#48,766

Similar misspelling depth

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

Feeney8 variantsFabius8 variantsgaiety8 variantsgalleon8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list