fleece

/fliːs/

//fliːs// noun

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

"fleece" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fleece” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,081. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,081
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal

Corpus desk

Index EN-fleece · fleece · English

fleece · rank #18,081 · 8 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,081
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH flattened

Nearest frequency peer: flattened (-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 “fleece”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fleece” 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).

fleece vs fleet
67% similar
fleece vs flees
67% similar
fleece vs freeze
67% similar

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

Key facts for fleece
PropertyValue
Headwordfleece
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fliːs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,081
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fleece”

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).fleecelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “flattened” (#18,080), “fodder” (#18,082), “fins” (#18,079). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fleece” is #18,081. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around fleece (IPA /fliːs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,081 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for fleece, with forms such as "felece", "ffleece", and "flece". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "fleet", "flees", "freeze", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English flees, flese, flus, fleos, from Old English flēos, flīes, flȳs, from Proto-West Germanic *fleus. The correct English form is fleece, spelled F-L-E-E-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal
  2. 2
    Insulating skin with the wool attached
  3. 3
    A textile similar to velvet, but with a longer pile that gives it a softness and a higher sheen.
  4. 4
    An insulating wooly jacket
  5. 5
    Mat or felts composed of fibers, sometimes used as a membrane backer.
  6. 6
    Any soft woolly covering resembling a fleece.
  7. 7
    The fine web of cotton or wool removed by the doffing knife from the cylinder of a carding machine.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Sun ſhall change, the Moon to change ſhall ceaſe; / The Gaits to clim-----the Sheep to yield the Fleece, / Ere ought by me be either ſaid or done, / Shall do thee Wrang, I ſwear by all aboon.
  2. Wool became the substitute for money. […] In all the middle periods of British history, the fleece was the expression and the measure of national prosperity or calamity.

Etymology

From Middle English flees, flese, flus, fleos, from Old English flēos, flīes, flȳs, from Proto-West Germanic *fleus.

This word in other languages

vellón(Español)toison(Français)Vlies(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • felece
  • ffleece
  • flece
  • flecee
  • fleecce
  • fleeec
  • flleece
  • lfeece

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

felece2ffleece1flece1flecee2fleecce1fleeec2flleece1lfeece2
Edit distance from "fleece"

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 "fleece"?
"fleece" is spelled F-L-E-E-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fliːs/.
What does "fleece" mean?
As a noun, "fleece" means: Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal
What words are commonly confused with "fleece"?
"fleece" is commonly confused with "fleet", "flees", "freeze". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fleece"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fleece" is /fliːs/. 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 "fleece"?
From Middle English flees, flese, flus, fleos, from Old English flēos, flīes, flȳs, from Proto-West Germanic *fleus. 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 "fleece", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fodder#18,082feudal#18,078fumble#18,084herbal#18,098

Similar misspelling depth

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

hefty8 variantscoyote8 variantslattice8 variantsNERDS8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list