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” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #4 in English word frequency and used as a preposition.

#4
frequency rank, English
2
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Expressing distance or motion.

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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for of is 2 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɒv/. Corpus data places it at rank #4 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 40 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

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.

Using “of”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is O-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɒv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “on” - see the side-by-side comparison. of vs on
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list