of

/ɒv/

//ɒv// prep

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

"of" is a 2-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“of” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #4) as a preposition. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Expressing distance or motion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-of · of · English

of · rank #4 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #4
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH and

Nearest frequency peer: and (-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 “of”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “of” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

of vs on
50% similar
of vs or
50% similar
of vs OH
0% similar

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

Key facts for of
PropertyValue
Headwordof
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPreposition
IPA/ɒv/
Letters2
Frequency rank#4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “of” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). of lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for of is neighbouring look-alikes ("on", "or", …), not just typos; it is apreposition pronounced /ɒv/. Frequency #4 among 1,431 “O” headwords. 40 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

of doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "on", "or", "OH", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English of From Middle English of, from Old English of (“from, out of, off”), an unstressed form of æf, from Proto-West Germ… The correct English form is of, spelled O-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Expressing distance or motion.
  2. 2
    Expressing distance or motion.
  3. 3
    Expressing distance or motion.
  4. 4
    Expressing separation.
  5. 5
    Expressing separation.
  6. 6
    Expressing separation.
  7. 7
    Expressing origin.
  8. 8
    Expressing origin.
  9. 9
    Expressing origin.
  10. 10
    Expressing origin.
  11. 11
    Expressing origin.
  12. 12
    Expressing agency.
  13. 13
    Expressing agency.
  14. 14
    Expressing agency.
  15. 15
    Expressing composition, substance.
  16. 16
    Expressing composition, substance.
  17. 17
    Expressing composition, substance.
  18. 18
    Expressing composition, substance.
  19. 19
    Expressing composition, substance.
  20. 20
    Introducing subject matter.
  21. 21
    Introducing subject matter.
  22. 22
    Introducing subject matter.
  23. 23
    Having partitive effect.
  24. 24
    Having partitive effect.
  25. 25
    Having partitive effect.
  26. 26
    Having partitive effect.
  27. 27
    Expressing possession.
  28. 28
    Expressing possession.
  29. 29
    Expressing possession.
  30. 30
    Forming the "objective genitive".
  31. 31
    Forming the "objective genitive".
  32. 32
    Expressing qualities or characteristics.
  33. 33
    Expressing qualities or characteristics.
  34. 34
    Expressing qualities or characteristics.
  35. 35
    Expressing qualities or characteristics.
  36. 36
    Expressing a point in time.
  37. 37
    Expressing a point in time.
  38. 38
    Expressing a point in time.
  39. 39
    Expressing a point in time.
  40. 40
    Expressing a point in time.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Take the chicken out of the freezer.
  2. Sir said Galahad by this shelde ben many merueils fallen / Sir sayd the knyght hit befelle after the passion of our lord Ihesu Crist xxxij yere that Ioseph of Armathye the gentyl knyghte / the whiche took doune oure lord of the hooly Crosse att that tyme he departed from Iherusalem with a grete party of his kynred with hym

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English of From Middle English of, from Old English of (“from, out of, off”), an unstressed form of æf, from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“away; away from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away”). Doublet of off, which is the stressed descendant of the same Old English word. More at off.

This word in other languages

de(Español)de(Français)aus(Deutsch)de(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.

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 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "of"?
"of" is spelled O-F. The IPA pronunciation is /ɒv/.
What does "of" mean?
As a preposition, "of" means: Expressing distance or motion.
What words are commonly confused with "of"?
"of" is commonly confused with "on", "or", "OH". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "of"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "of" is /ɒv/. 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 "of"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English of From Middle English of, from Old English of (“from, out of, off”), an unstressed form of æf, from Proto... 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.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list