fob

/fɒb/

//fɒb// noun

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

"fob" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fob” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #25,388) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#25,388
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A little pocket near the waistline of a pair of trousers or in a waistcoat or vest to hold money or valuables, especially a pocket watch.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fob · fob · English

fob · rank #25,388 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,388
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH flimsy

Nearest frequency peer: flimsy (-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 “fob”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “fob” 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).

fob vs fu
33% similar
fob vs FS
0% similar
fob vs FP
0% similar

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

Key facts for fob
PropertyValue
Headwordfob
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɒb/
Letters3
Frequency rank#25,388
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “fob”

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).foblands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “flimsy” (#25,387), “footer” (#25,389), “flicker” (#25,386). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fob” is #25,388. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fob is neighbouring look-alikes ("fu", "FS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /fɒb/. Frequency #25,388 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

fob has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fu", "FS", "FP", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Low German Fobke (“pocket”) or High Prussian Fuppe (“pocket”), probably related to Swedish ficka (“pocket”), Old Danish fikke, Alemannic German figge, Middle Dutch vicke, all from Proto-Germanic *fikkja, of uncertain ultimate origin: * possibly from Pr… The correct English form is fob, spelled F-O-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    A little pocket near the waistline of a pair of trousers or in a waistcoat or vest to hold money or valuables, especially a pocket watch.
  2. 2
    A short chain or ribbon to connect such a pocket to the watch.
  3. 3
    A small ornament attached to such a chain.
  4. 4
    A hand-held electronic device that can be used as a remote control or as a key to unlock motor cars, doors, etc., and thus, modern car keys.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. With a saint at his chin and a seal at his fob.
  2. As soon as they had confined my arms they left me, and remembering the bank-notes which I had in my fob, I began to fear they had come to the knowledge of this circumstance […].

Etymology

From Low German Fobke (“pocket”) or High Prussian Fuppe (“pocket”), probably related to Swedish ficka (“pocket”), Old Danish fikke, Alemannic German figge, Middle Dutch vicke, all from Proto-Germanic *fikkja, of uncertain ultimate origin: * possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“to assail, strike”), related to *fukkōną (“to strike”); * or of Romance origin, from Latin figere (“to fix, fasten”), possibly via an old form of Italian ficcare. Also see Ficke.

This word in other languages

leontina(Español)châtelaine(Français)Uhrkette(Deutsch)corrente(Português)

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 "fob"?
"fob" is spelled F-O-B. The IPA pronunciation is /fɒb/.
What does "fob" mean?
As a noun, "fob" means: A little pocket near the waistline of a pair of trousers or in a waistcoat or vest to hold money or valuables, especially a pocket watch.
What words are commonly confused with "fob"?
"fob" is commonly confused with "fu", "FS", "FP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fob"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fob" is /fɒb/. 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 "fob"?
From Low German Fobke (“pocket”) or High Prussian Fuppe (“pocket”), probably related to Swedish ficka (“pocket”), Old Danish fikke, Alemannic German figge, Middle Dutch vicke, all from Proto-Germanic *fikkja, of uncertain ultimate origin: * possib... 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 "fob", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

haw#25,402Hou#25,415IRC#25,427ISI#25,430

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list