foxhole

noun

"foxhole" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foxhole” is uncommon English (frequency #73,196 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,196
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The burrow in the ground where a fox lives.

Corpus desk

Index EN-foxhole · foxhole · English

foxhole · rank #73,196 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,196
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fractionally

Nearest frequency peer: fractionally (+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 “foxhole”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for foxhole
PropertyValue
Headwordfoxhole
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#73,196
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “foxhole” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).foxholefalls 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: “fractionally” (#73,197), “frameless” (#73,198), “folkloric” (#73,193). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “foxhole” is #73,196. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

foxhole is uncommon English at frequency #73,196 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for foxhole in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English foxhol, from Old English foxhol, equivalent to fox + hole. The correct English form is foxhole, spelled F-O-X-H-O-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The burrow in the ground where a fox lives.
  2. 2
    A small pit dug into the ground as a shelter for protection against enemy fire.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The statement made during the Second World War that “there are no atheists in foxholes” is absurd. Foxholes teem with atheists—who, to be sure, frequently infringe the Third Commandment in their desperation.
  2. Four pilots from the St. Lo, returning from a strike, land at the Dulag Airstrip and are promptly handed carbines, given a foxhole, and told to help repel a Japanese infantry counterattack. With that job done, with the aid of some stacked boxes and buckets full of petrol, they rearm and repair their aircraft, and then head back out to land on other ships.

Etymology

From Middle English foxhol, from Old English foxhol, equivalent to fox + hole.

Synonyms

dugoutfighting holespider hole

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); 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 "foxhole"?
"foxhole" is spelled F-O-X-H-O-L-E.
What does "foxhole" mean?
As a noun, "foxhole" means: The burrow in the ground where a fox lives.
What is the origin of the word "foxhole"?
From Middle English foxhol, from Old English foxhol, equivalent to fox + hole. 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 "foxhole", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list