narc

/ˈnɑːk/

//ˈnɑːk// noun

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

"narc" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“narc” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,645. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,645
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A police officer or federal agent assigned to or engaging in illegal narcotics control.

Corpus desk

Index EN-narc · narc · English

narc · rank #46,645 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,645
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Nat'l

Nearest frequency peer: Nat'l (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “narc”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “narc” 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).

narc vs NC
0% similar
narc vs nr
50% similar
narc vs nor
50% similar

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

Key facts for narc
PropertyValue
Headwordnarc
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnɑːk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#46,645
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “narc”

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).narclands 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 “Nat'l” (#46,646), “musing” (#46,643), “multifamily” (#46,642). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “narc” is #46,645. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around narc (IPA /ˈnɑːk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,645 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A police officer or federal agent assigned to or engaging in illegal narcotics control.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for narc, with forms such as "anrc", "nacr", and "narcc". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NC", "nr", "nor", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of narcotics (control) officer. The correct English form is narc, spelled N-A-R-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    A police officer or federal agent assigned to or engaging in illegal narcotics control.

Etymology

Clipping of narcotics (control) officer.

This word in other languages

Drogenfahnder(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • anrc
  • nacr
  • narcc
  • narrc
  • nnarc
  • nrac

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of narc - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

anrc2nacr2narcc1narrc1nnarc1nrac2
Edit distance from "narc"

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 "narc"?
"narc" is spelled N-A-R-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɑːk/.
What does "narc" mean?
As a noun, "narc" means: A police officer or federal agent assigned to or engaging in illegal narcotics control.
What words are commonly confused with "narc"?
"narc" is commonly confused with "NC", "nr", "nor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "narc"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "narc" is /ˈnɑːk/. 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 "narc"?
Clipping of narcotics (control) officer. 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 "narc", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

miro#46,628MIRI#46,627maas#46,597lyre#46,595

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

plop6 variantsKwok6 variantskerb6 variantskenner6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list