frill
/fɹɪl/
"frill" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“frill” is an uncommon English word, ranked #65,904 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #65,904
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A strip of pleated fabric or paper used as decoration or trim.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | frill |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /fɹɪl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #65,904 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “frill” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for frill is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fɹɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #65,904 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
frill doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Of uncertain origin. The correct English form is frill, spelled F-R-I-L-L.
Definition
- 1A strip of pleated fabric or paper used as decoration or trim.
- 2A substance or material on the edge of something, resembling such a strip of fabric.
- 3A wrinkled edge to a film.
- 4Something extraneous or not essential; something purely for show or effect; a luxury.
- 5The relatively extensive margin seen on the back of the heads of reptiles, with either a bony support or a cartilaginous one.
- 6Synonym of armilla.
Etymology
Of uncertain origin.
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
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Using “frill”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-R-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /fɹɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.