fortress

/ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs/

//ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs// noun

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

"fortress" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fortress” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,051. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,051
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fortified place; a large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town; for example a fort, a castle; a stronghold; a place of defense or security.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fortress · fortress · English

fortress · rank #10,051 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,051
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH floral

Nearest frequency peer: floral (-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 “fortress”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fortress” 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).

fortress vs Forrest
63% similar
fortress vs forties
75% similar

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

Key facts for fortress
PropertyValue
Headwordfortress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,051
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fortress”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).fortresslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “floral” (#10,050), “fulfilled” (#10,052), “flint” (#10,049). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fortress” is #10,051. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around fortress (IPA /ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,051 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for fortress, with forms such as "ffortress", "forrtess", and "forrtress". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Forrest", "forties", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Early 14 c., from Old French forteresce, forteresse, forterece (“strong place, fortification”), variant of fortelesse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis (“strong”) (see fort) + -itia, added to adjectives to form nouns of quality or condition… The correct English form is fortress, spelled F-O-R-T-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fortified place; a large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town; for example a fort, a castle; a stronghold; a place of defense or security.
  2. 2
    A position that, if obtained by the weaker side, will prevent penetration by the opposing side, generally achieving a draw.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Like the Mesolithic age of 10,000-8000 B.C., the period 6000-4000 B.C. seems to be one of the fall of fortresses and the rise of pastoral nomadism.

Etymology

Early 14 c., from Old French forteresce, forteresse, forterece (“strong place, fortification”), variant of fortelesse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis (“strong”) (see fort) + -itia, added to adjectives to form nouns of quality or condition. French -ess, from Latin -itia is also in words such as duress, prowess, largesse and richesse. For change of medial -l- to -r- in Old French, compare orne (“elm”) from ulmus; chartre from cartula and chapitre from capitulum. First attested in the 12th century.

Synonyms

bastionbulwarkcitadelstronghold

This word in other languages

fortaleza(Español)forteresse(Français)Festung(Deutsch)fortaleza(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffortress
  • forrtess
  • forrtress
  • forterss
  • fortres
  • fortrress
  • fortrses
  • forttress
  • fotrress
  • frotress
  • ofrtress

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fortress - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffortress1forrtess2forrtress1forterss2fortres1fortrress1fortrses2forttress1
Edit distance from "fortress"

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 "fortress"?
"fortress" is spelled F-O-R-T-R-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs/.
What does "fortress" mean?
As a noun, "fortress" means: A fortified place; a large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town; for example a fort, a castle; a stronghold; a place of defense or security.
What words are commonly confused with "fortress"?
"fortress" is commonly confused with "Forrest", "forties". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fortress"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fortress" is /ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs/. 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 "fortress"?
Early 14 c., from Old French forteresce, forteresse, forterece (“strong place, fortification”), variant of fortelesse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis (“strong”) (see fort) + -itia, added to adjectives to form nouns of quality or... 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 "fortress", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

grabbing#10,054fairness#10,045exploded#10,044drowning#10,040

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

handing11 variantsdrainage11 variantsdinosaur11 variantsCornwall11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list