foley

/ˈfoʊli/

//ˈfoʊli// noun

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

"foley" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foley” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,946. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,946
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The creation of sound effects, and their addition to film and TV images.

Corpus desk

Index EN-foley · foley · English

foley · rank #14,946 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,946
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH footing

Nearest frequency peer: footing (+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 “foley”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “foley” 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).

foley vs foy
60% similar
foley vs folk
60% similar
foley vs Frey
40% similar

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

Key facts for foley
PropertyValue
Headwordfoley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfoʊli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#14,946
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “foley”

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).foleylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “footing” (#14,947), “FAA” (#14,944), “Fulton” (#14,948). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “foley” is #14,946. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around foley (IPA /ˈfoʊli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,946 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for foley, with forms such as "ffoley", "floey", and "foely". 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, "foy", "folk", "Frey", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the surname Foley, itself from Irish Ó Foghlú and Old Irish Ó Foghladha (“plunderer”). The meanings related to sound effects are named after sound effects pioneer Jack Foley. The correct English form is foley, spelled F-O-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The creation of sound effects, and their addition to film and TV images.
  2. 2
    A foley artist.
  3. 3
    A Foley catheter.

Etymology

From the surname Foley, itself from Irish Ó Foghlú and Old Irish Ó Foghladha (“plunderer”). The meanings related to sound effects are named after sound effects pioneer Jack Foley.

This word in other languages

bruitage(Français)sonoplastia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffoley
  • floey
  • foely
  • foleyy
  • folley
  • folye
  • ofley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ffoley1floey2foely2foleyy1folley1folye2ofley2
Edit distance from "foley"

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 "foley"?
"foley" is spelled F-O-L-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfoʊli/.
What does "foley" mean?
As a noun, "foley" means: The creation of sound effects, and their addition to film and TV images.
What words are commonly confused with "foley"?
"foley" is commonly confused with "foy", "folk", "Frey". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foley"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foley" is /ˈfoʊli/. 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 "foley"?
From the surname Foley, itself from Irish Ó Foghlú and Old Irish Ó Foghladha (“plunderer”). The meanings related to sound effects are named after sound effects pioneer Jack Foley. 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 "foley", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

equip#14,943havoc#14,957humid#14,964cider#14,919

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

hitter7 variantsKlaus7 variantslegged7 variantsbribe7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list