floe

/fləʊ/

//fləʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“floe” is uncommon English (frequency #79,517 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,517
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A low, flat mass of floating ice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-floe · floe · English

floe · rank #79,517 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,517
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH flintlock

Nearest frequency peer: flintlock (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “floe”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “floe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for floe
PropertyValue
Headwordfloe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fləʊ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#79,517
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “floe” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).floefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “flintlock” (#79,515), “flanged” (#79,514), “fizzing” (#79,513). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “floe” is #79,517. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

floe is uncommon English at frequency #79,517 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /fləʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A low, flat mass of floating ice.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for floe, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Early 19th century. Probably from Norwegian Nynorsk flo (“layer, slab”), from Old Norse fló (“layer”). The correct English form is floe, spelled F-L-O-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A low, flat mass of floating ice.

Etymology

Early 19th century. Probably from Norwegian Nynorsk flo (“layer, slab”), from Old Norse fló (“layer”).

This word in other languages

banquisa(Español)banquise(Français)Eisscholle(Deutsch)

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 "floe"?
"floe" is spelled F-L-O-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fləʊ/.
What does "floe" mean?
As a noun, "floe" means: A low, flat mass of floating ice.
How do you pronounce "floe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "floe" is /fləʊ/. 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 "floe"?
Early 19th century. Probably from Norwegian Nynorsk flo (“layer, slab”), from Old Norse fló (“layer”). 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 "floe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Engr#79,491EITC#79,482eggy#79,480HBCU#79,572

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list