foursome

/ˈfɔɹsəm/

//ˈfɔɹsəm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“foursome” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,326. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,326
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of four, a quartet or a game (such as golf) played by four players, especially by two teams of two.

Corpus desk

Index EN-foursome · foursome · English

foursome · rank #39,326 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #39,326
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH flattening

Nearest frequency peer: flattening (-2 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 “foursome”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “foursome” 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).

foursome vs fearsome
75% similar

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

Key facts for foursome
PropertyValue
Headwordfoursome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɔɹsəm/
Letters8
Frequency rank#39,326
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “foursome”

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).foursomelands 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 “flattening” (#39,324), “Francophone” (#39,328), “froth” (#39,329). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “foursome” is #39,326. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around foursome (IPA /ˈfɔɹsəm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #39,326 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 foursome, with forms such as "ffoursome", "forusome", and "fourosme". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "fearsome", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From four + -some. The correct English form is foursome, spelled F-O-U-R-S-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A group of four, a quartet or a game (such as golf) played by four players, especially by two teams of two.
  2. 2
    A sex act between four people.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The fired-up foursome takes itself very seriously, singing politically charged lyrics, which, in the tradition of Strife and Damnation AD, are strategically placed in the middle of slamming, moshable breakdowns.
  2. And Ms. Davies’s 7,000-square-foot guesthouse, the only building from the original estate to survive, is already a favorite among card-playing foursomes and others who want to lounge on the second-story deck and watch dolphins bob in the whitecapped waves.

Etymology

From four + -some.

Synonyms

quaterniontetradquartetfourgie

This word in other languages

cuarteto(Español)quatuor(Français)Vierer(Deutsch)quarteto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffoursome
  • forusome
  • fourosme
  • fourrsome
  • foursmoe
  • foursoem
  • foursomme
  • fourssome
  • fousrome
  • fuorsome
  • ofursome

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of foursome - 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.

ffoursome1forusome2fourosme2fourrsome1foursmoe2foursoem2foursomme1fourssome1
Edit distance from "foursome"

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 "foursome"?
"foursome" is spelled F-O-U-R-S-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɔɹsəm/.
What does "foursome" mean?
As a noun, "foursome" means: A group of four, a quartet or a game (such as golf) played by four players, especially by two teams of two.
What words are commonly confused with "foursome"?
"foursome" is commonly confused with "fearsome". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foursome"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foursome" is /ˈfɔɹsəm/. 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 "foursome"?
From four + -some. 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 "foursome", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

furlough#39,330galleria#39,333faintest#39,318hideaway#39,352

Similar misspelling depth

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

gnawing11 variantsdomicile11 variantsCthulhu11 variantslifelike11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list