fur

/fɜː/

//fɜː// noun

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

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

The verdict

“fur” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #6,789) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#6,789
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The hairy coat of various mammal species, especially when fine, soft and thick.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fur · fur · English

fur · rank #6,789 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,789
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fork

Nearest frequency peer: fork (-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 neighbours of confusable “fur”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “fur” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

fur vs FW
0% similar
fur vs fy
33% similar
fur vs FYI
0% similar

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

Key facts for fur
PropertyValue
Headwordfur
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɜː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#6,789
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “fur”

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).furlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “fork” (#6,788), “GPS” (#6,790), “flames” (#6,787). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fur” is #6,789. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fur is neighbouring look-alikes ("FW", "fy", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /fɜː/. Frequency #6,789 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 14 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for fur in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "FW", "fy", "FYI", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English furre, forre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre (“a case; sheath”), from Frankish *fōdar, from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”) (compare Old English fōdor (“sheaf”), Dutch voering (“lining”), German Futter (… The correct English form is fur, spelled F-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The hairy coat of various mammal species, especially when fine, soft and thick.
  2. 2
    The hairy skins of animals used as a material for clothing.
  3. 3
    An animal pelt used to make, trim or line clothing.
  4. 4
    A garment made of fur.
  5. 5
    A coating or lining resembling fur in function and/or appearance.
  6. 6
    A coating or lining resembling fur in function and/or appearance.
  7. 7
    A coating or lining resembling fur in function and/or appearance.
  8. 8
    A coating or lining resembling fur in function and/or appearance.
  9. 9
    One of several patterns or diapers used as tinctures, such as ermine and vair.
  10. 10
    Rabbits and hares, as opposed to partridges and pheasants (called feathers).
  11. 11
    A furry, a member of the furry fandom.
  12. 12
    Human body hair, especially when abundant.
  13. 13
    Pubic hair.
  14. 14
    Sexual attractiveness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. During the colonial period, Britain used Canada as a major source of furs.
  2. November 17, 1716, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, letter to the Countess of Mar wrapped up in my furs

Etymology

From Middle English furre, forre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre (“a case; sheath”), from Frankish *fōdar, from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”) (compare Old English fōdor (“sheaf”), Dutch voering (“lining”), German Futter (“lining”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂 (fōdr, “sheath”)), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-, *poh₂- (“to protect”) (compare Lithuanian piemuō (“protection”), Ancient Greek πῶῠ̈ (pôŭ̈, “flock”), πῶμα (pôma, “lid”), ποιμήν (poimḗn, “shepherd”), Old Armenian հաւրան (hawran, “herd, flock”), Northern Kurdish pawan (“to watch over”), Sanskrit पाति (pāti, “he watches, protects”). The verb is from Middle English furren, from Anglo-Norman furrer, forrer, fourrer (“to line, stuff, fill”), from the noun.

This word in other languages

pelo(Español)fourrure(Français)Fell(Deutsch)pelo(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 "fur"?
"fur" is spelled F-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /fɜː/.
What does "fur" mean?
As a noun, "fur" means: The hairy coat of various mammal species, especially when fine, soft and thick.
What words are commonly confused with "fur"?
"fur" is commonly confused with "FW", "fy", "FYI". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fur" is /fɜː/. 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 "fur"?
From Middle English furre, forre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre (“a case; sheath”), from Frankish *fōdar, from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”) (compare Old English fōdor (“sheaf”), Dutch voering (“lining”), Germa... 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 "fur", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

GPS#6,790mob#6,810mph#6,813tin#6,847

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list