offense

/əˈfɛns/

//əˈfɛns// noun

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

"offense" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“offense” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,619. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,619
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of offending.

Corpus desk

Index EN-offense · offense · English

offense · rank #4,619 · 8 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,619
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH occasions

Nearest frequency peer: occasions (-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 “offense”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “offense” 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).

offense vs offers
71% similar
offense vs offensive
78% similar
offense vs offend
71% similar

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

Key facts for offense
PropertyValue
Headwordoffense
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈfɛns/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,619
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “offense”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).offenselands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “occasions” (#4,618), “oral” (#4,620), “nope” (#4,617). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “offense” is #4,619. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around offense (IPA /əˈfɛns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,619 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for offense, with forms such as "fofense", "ofefnse", and "ofense". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "offers", "offensive", "offend", 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 Middle English offence, from Old French offense, from Latin offensa (“a striking against; displeasure; injury”). The correct English form is offense, spelled O-F-F-E-N-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of offending.
  2. 2
    The act of offending.
  3. 3
    The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure.
  4. 4
    A strategy and tactics employed when in position to score; contrasted with defense.
  5. 5
    The portion of a team dedicated to scoring when in position to do so; contrasted with defense.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The slave fully appreciates the saying, "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." When old master's gestures were violent, ending with a threatening shake of the head, and a sharp snap of his middle finger and thumb, I deemed it wise to keep at a respectable distance from him; for, at such times, trifling faults stood, in his eyes, as momentous o…
  2. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.

Etymology

From Middle English offence, from Old French offense, from Latin offensa (“a striking against; displeasure; injury”).

Synonyms

offenseaffrontbarbburndisdissinsultinsultationpejorativeput-downslamslightslur

This word in other languages

ofensa(Español)attaque(Français)Vergehen(Deutsch)delito(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fofense
  • ofefnse
  • ofense
  • offenes
  • offennse
  • offensse
  • offesne
  • offnese

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of offense - 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.

fofense2ofefnse2ofense1offenes2offennse1offensse1offesne2offnese2
Edit distance from "offense"

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 "offense"?
"offense" is spelled O-F-F-E-N-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈfɛns/.
What does "offense" mean?
As a noun, "offense" means: The act of offending.
What words are commonly confused with "offense"?
"offense" is commonly confused with "offers", "offensive", "offend". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "offense"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "offense" is /əˈfɛns/. 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 "offense"?
From Middle English offence, from Old French offense, from Latin offensa (“a striking against; displeasure; injury”). 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 "offense", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mounted#4,615peoples#4,623realise#4,625segment#4,633

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

mutual8 variantspursue8 variantsruined8 variantsstays8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list