ochre

/ˈəʊkə/

//ˈəʊkə// noun

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

"ochre" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ochre” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,303. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,303
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A clay earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ochre · ochre · English

ochre · rank #42,303 · 6 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,303
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH oboe

Nearest frequency peer: oboe (-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 “ochre”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ochre” 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).

ochre vs ore
60% similar
ochre vs OCR
0% similar
ochre vs ogre
60% similar

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

Key facts for ochre
PropertyValue
Headwordochre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈəʊkə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#42,303
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ochre”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).ochrelands 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 “oboe” (#42,302), “ogle” (#42,304), “NWO” (#42,301). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ochre” is #42,303. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around ochre (IPA /ˈəʊkə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,303 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for ochre, with forms such as "occhre", "ocher", and "ochhre". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "ore", "OCR", "ogre", 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 Old French ocre and its source Latin ōchra, from Ancient Greek ὤχρα (ṓkhra, “pale yellow”), from ὠχρός (ōkhrós, “pale, ocher”) (modern Greek ωχρός (ochrós)). The correct English form is ochre, spelled O-C-H-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A clay earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide.
  2. 2
    A somewhat dark yellowish orange colour.
  3. 3
    The stop codon sequence "UAA".
  4. 4
    Money, especially gold.
  5. 5
    Any of various brown-coloured hesperiid butterflies of the genus Trapezites.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. ‘What does he come here cheeking us for, then?’ cried Master Kidderminster, showing a very irascible temperament. ‘If you want to cheek us, pay your ochre at the doors and take it out.’

Etymology

From Old French ocre and its source Latin ōchra, from Ancient Greek ὤχρα (ṓkhra, “pale yellow”), from ὠχρός (ōkhrós, “pale, ocher”) (modern Greek ωχρός (ochrós)).

This word in other languages

ocre(Español)ocre(Français)Ocker(Deutsch)ocre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • occhre
  • ocher
  • ochhre
  • ochrre
  • ocrhe
  • ohcre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ochre - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

occhre1ocher2ochhre1ochrre1ocrhe2ohcre2
Edit distance from "ochre"

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 "ochre"?
"ochre" is spelled O-C-H-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈəʊkə/.
What does "ochre" mean?
As a noun, "ochre" means: A clay earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide.
What words are commonly confused with "ochre"?
"ochre" is commonly confused with "ore", "OCR", "ogre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ochre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ochre" is /ˈəʊkə/. 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 "ochre"?
From Old French ocre and its source Latin ōchra, from Ancient Greek ὤχρα (ṓkhra, “pale yellow”), from ὠχρός (ōkhrós, “pale, ocher”) (modern Greek ωχρός (ochrós)). 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 "ochre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Noida#42,296orang#42,310Navas#42,294Paget#42,317

Similar misspelling depth

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

indio6 variantshypo6 variantsspud6 variantstapper6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list