fortes

/ˈfɔː(r)teɪ̯z/

//ˈfɔː(r)teɪ̯z// noun

"fortes" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fortes” is uncommon English (frequency #84,265 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,265
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of forte

Corpus desk

Index EN-fortes · fortes · English

fortes · rank #84,265 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,265
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH formalist

Nearest frequency peer: formalist (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “fortes”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “fortes” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for fortes
PropertyValue
Headwordfortes
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɔː(r)teɪ̯z/
Letters6
Frequency rank#84,265
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fortes” in English

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).fortesfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “formalist” (#84,264), “fpm” (#84,267), “freind” (#84,269). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fortes” is #84,265. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fortes is uncommon English at frequency #84,265 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɔː(r)teɪ̯z/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "plural of forte".

fortes has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. The correct English form is fortes, spelled F-O-R-T-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of forte

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

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 "fortes"?
"fortes" is spelled F-O-R-T-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɔː(r)teɪ̯z/.
What does "fortes" mean?
As a noun, "fortes" means: plural of forte
How do you pronounce "fortes"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fortes" is /ˈfɔː(r)teɪ̯z/. 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 "fortes"?
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. 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 "fortes", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list