fox

/fɒks/

//fɒks// noun

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

"fox" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fox” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,204) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,204
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small-to-medium-sized canine mammal, related to dogs and wolves, with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail, of the following groups:

Corpus desk

Index EN-fox · fox · English

fox · rank #2,204 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,204
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH falling

Nearest frequency peer: falling (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “fox”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “fox” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

fox vs fu
33% similar
fox vs FS
0% similar
fox vs FP
0% similar

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

Key facts for fox
PropertyValue
Headwordfox
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɒks/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,204
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fox” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).foxlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “falling” (#2,203), “guns” (#2,205), “facilities” (#2,202). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fox is neighbouring look-alikes ("fu", "FS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /fɒks/. Frequency #2,204 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 17 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

fox doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fu", "FS", "FP", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz Old English fox Middle English fox English fox From Middle English fox, from Old English fox (“fox”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhs, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-Euro… The correct English form is fox, spelled F-O-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small-to-medium-sized canine mammal, related to dogs and wolves, with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail, of the following groups:
  2. 2
    A small-to-medium-sized canine mammal, related to dogs and wolves, with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail, of the following groups:
  3. 3
    A small-to-medium-sized canine mammal, related to dogs and wolves, with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail, of the following groups:
  4. 4
    The fur of a fox.
  5. 5
    A fox terrier.
  6. 6
    A flying fox.
  7. 7
    The gemmeous dragonet, a fish, Callionymus lyra, so called from its yellow color.
  8. 8
    A cunning person.
  9. 9
    A physically attractive person, typically a woman.
  10. 10
    A person with reddish brown hair, typically a woman.
  11. 11
    A small strand of rope made by twisting several rope-yarns together. Used for seizings, mats, sennits, and gaskets.
  12. 12
    A wedge driven into the split end of a bolt to tighten it.
  13. 13
    A hidden radio transmitter, finding which is the goal of radiosport.
  14. 14
    The fourteenth Lenormand card.
  15. 15
    A sword; so called from the stamp of a fox on the blade, or perhaps of a wolf taken for a fox.
  16. 16
    Air-to-air weapon launched.
  17. 17
    Someone who fuses many different influences and concepts in their philosophy or worldview.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A group of foxes is called a skulk.
  2. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz Old English fox Middle English fox English fox From Middle English fox, from Old English fox (“fox”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhs, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos (“the tailed one”), possibly from *puḱ- (“tail”). Cognate with Scots fox (“fox”), North Frisian foos, fos (“fox”), Saterland Frisian Foaks (“fox”), West Frisian foks (“fox”), Dutch vos (“fox”), Low German vos (“fox”), German Fuchs (“fox”), Icelandic fóa (“fox”), Tocharian B päkā (“tail, chowrie”), Russian пух (pux, “down, fluff”), Sanskrit पुच्छ (púccha) (whence Torwali پوش (pūš, “fox”), Hindi पूंछ (pūñch, “tail”)). Philosophical sense from the 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaiah Berlin. Military aviation sense from the pre-NATO military spelling alphabet where Fox represented F and was short for 'to fire'.

This word in other languages

zorro(Español)renard(Français)Fuchs(Deutsch)raposa(Português)

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 "fox"?
"fox" is spelled F-O-X. The IPA pronunciation is /fɒks/.
What does "fox" mean?
As a noun, "fox" means: A small-to-medium-sized canine mammal, related to dogs and wolves, with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail, of the following groups:
What words are commonly confused with "fox"?
"fox" is commonly confused with "fu", "FS", "FP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fox"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fox" is /fɒks/. 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 "fox"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz Old English fox Middle English fox English fox From Middle English fox, from Old English fox (“fox”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhs, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz (“fox”), from Proto... 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 "fox", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

leg#2,215max#2,222sub#2,2363rd#2,239

What to do next

You've looked up "fox". Here's where to go from here.

  • "fox" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "fu". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,204 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list