fog

/fɒɡ/

//fɒɡ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“fog” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #8,288) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#8,288
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thick cloud that forms near the ground; the obscurity of such a cloud.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fog · fog · English

fog · rank #8,288 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,288
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH finishes

Nearest frequency peer: finishes (-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 “fog”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “fog” 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).

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

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

Key facts for fog
PropertyValue
Headwordfog
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɒɡ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#8,288
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “fog”

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).foglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “finishes” (#8,287), “framed” (#8,289), “finances” (#8,286). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fog” is #8,288. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fog is neighbouring look-alikes ("fu", "FS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /fɒɡ/. Frequency #8,288 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for fog in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. 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: Origin uncertain; but probably of North Germanic origin. Probably either a back-formation from foggy (“covered with tall grass; thick, marshy”), from the earlier-attested fog (“tall grass”) (see below), or from or related to Danish fog (“spray, shower, drif… The correct English form is fog, spelled F-O-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thick cloud that forms near the ground; the obscurity of such a cloud.
  2. 2
    A mist or film clouding a surface.
  3. 3
    A state of mind characterized by lethargy and confusion.
  4. 4
    A silver deposit or other blur on a negative or developed photographic image.
  5. 5
    Distance fog.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a bank of fog
  2. Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;[…].

Etymology

Origin uncertain; but probably of North Germanic origin. Probably either a back-formation from foggy (“covered with tall grass; thick, marshy”), from the earlier-attested fog (“tall grass”) (see below), or from or related to Danish fog (“spray, shower, drift, storm”), related to Icelandic fok (“spray, any light thing tossed by the wind, snowdrift”), Icelandic fjúka (“to blow, drive”), from Proto-Germanic *feukaną (“to whisk, blow”), from Proto-Indo-European *pug- (“billow, bulge, drift”), from *pew-, *pow- (“to blow, drift, billow”), in which case related to German fauchen (“to hiss, spit, spray”).

This word in other languages

niebla(Español)brouillard(Français)Nebel(Deutsch)névoa(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 "fog"?
"fog" is spelled F-O-G. The IPA pronunciation is /fɒɡ/.
What does "fog" mean?
As a noun, "fog" means: A thick cloud that forms near the ground; the obscurity of such a cloud.
What words are commonly confused with "fog"?
"fog" 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 "fog"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fog" is /fɒɡ/. 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 "fog"?
Origin uncertain; but probably of North Germanic origin. Probably either a back-formation from foggy (“covered with tall grass; thick, marshy”), from the earlier-attested fog (“tall grass”) (see below), or from or related to Danish fog (“spray, sh... 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 "fog", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

EVA#8,283gif#8,294EPA#8,281lad#8,307

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list