# orca

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈoɹkə/ · frequency rank #31,683

## Definitions
1. A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale.

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin orca (“tun, cask; whale”), see there for more. Although the origin is obscure, the sometimes-cited association with orcus (“underworld”) is folk-etymology. Doublet of orc.

## Easily confused with
- **ore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ore)
- **org** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-org)
- **Orr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-orr)
- **ova** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ova)
- **OTC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-otc)
- **Ori** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ori)
- **Ota** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ota)
- **ord** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ord)
- **Ors** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ors)
- **ouch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ouch)
- **orgy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-orgy)
- **OSHA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-osha)
- **ores** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-ores)
- **Oreo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-oreo)
- **Oren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-oren)
- **Oscar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-oscar)
- **organ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-organ)
- **oreal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/orca-vs-oreal)
- **or** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/or-vs-orca)
- **OC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oc-vs-orca)

## Common misspellings (4)
`orac`, `orcca`, `orrca`, `roca`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/orca