obvs
/ɒ(b)vz/
"obvs" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obvs” is uncommon English (frequency #63,113 among 15,494 “O” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,113
- frequency rank, English
- 15,494
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Clipping of obviously.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obvs |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ɒ(b)vz/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #63,113 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obvs” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
obvs is uncommon English at frequency #63,113 among 15,494 “O” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ɒ(b)vz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Clipping of obviously.".
No misspelling variants are generated for obvs in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of obviously + -s (hypocoristic suffix). Compare blates (“blatantly”), totes (“totally”). The correct English form is obvs, spelled O-B-V-S.
Definition
- 1Clipping of obviously.
Etymology
Clipping of obviously + -s (hypocoristic suffix). Compare blates (“blatantly”), totes (“totally”).
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 “obvs”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-V-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɒ(b)vz/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.