forebear
/ˈfɔːˌbɛə/
"forebear" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“forebear” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ancestor.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | forebear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɔːˌbɛə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “forebear” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for forebear is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɔːˌbɛə/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "An ancestor.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for forebear in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Late 15th century, from fore- + beer (“one who is or exists”, literally “be-er”). The correct English form is forebear, spelled F-O-R-E-B-E-A-R.
Definition
- 1An ancestor.
Etymology
Late 15th century, from fore- + beer (“one who is or exists”, literally “be-er”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “forebear”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-E-B-E-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɔːˌbɛə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.