noy
/nɔɪ/
"noy" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“noy” is uncommon English (frequency #66,882 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #66,882
- frequency rank, English
- 1,534
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To annoy; to harm or injure.
Corpus desk
Index EN-noy · noy · English
noy · rank #66,882 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #66,882
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,534
- PHOTO-FINISH nullifying
Nearest frequency peer: nullifying (+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 “noy”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- noblesse
noblesse
33,124 corpus weight
- NoSQL
NoSQL
33,121 corpus weight
- noy
noy
33,119 corpus weight
- nullifying
nullifying
33,118 corpus weight
- nuncio
nuncio
33,117 corpus weight
- Oakleigh
Oakleigh
33,113 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “noy” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | noy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /nɔɪ/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #66,882 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “noy” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
noy is uncommon English at frequency #66,882 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /nɔɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To annoy; to harm or injure.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for noy, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English noyen, partly an aphetic form of anoyen and partly from Anglo-Norman noier, nuier. The correct English form is noy, spelled N-O-Y.
Definition
- 1To annoy; to harm or injure.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how noy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Take heed to false harlots, and more, ye wot what. / If noise ye heare, / Looke all be cleare: / Least drabs doe noie thee, / And theeues destroie thee.
and all that noyd his heauie spright
Etymology
From Middle English noyen, partly an aphetic form of anoyen and partly from Anglo-Norman noier, nuier.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "noy", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "noy". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #66,882 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "N" letter cohort. N–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.