FOIA
/ˈfɔɪjə/
"foia" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“FOIA” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #33,247 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #33,247
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Acronym of Freedom of Information Act.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | FOIA |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɔɪjə/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #33,247 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “FOIA” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for FOIA is 4 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɔɪjə/. Corpus data places it at rank #33,247 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Acronym of Freedom of Information Act.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for FOIA, with forms such as "ffoia", "fioa", and "foai". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "for", "fox", "FYI", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: First use appears c. 1968, in the publication Administrative Law Review. The correct English form is FOIA, spelled F-O-I-A.
Definition
- 1Acronym of Freedom of Information Act.
Etymology
First use appears c. 1968, in the publication Administrative Law Review.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ffoia,fioa,foai,ofia
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of FOIA - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "FOIA"?
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Using “FOIA”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-O-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɔɪjə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “for” - see the side-by-side comparison. FOIA vs for
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.