orifice

/ˈɒɹɪfɪs/

//ˈɒɹɪfɪs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“orifice” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,533. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,533
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mouth or aperture, such as of a tube, pipe, etc.; an opening.

Corpus desk

Index EN-orifice · orifice · English

orifice · rank #38,533 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #38,533
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH opportunist

Nearest frequency peer: opportunist (-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 “orifice”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “orifice” 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).

orifice vs office
71% similar

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

Key facts for orifice
PropertyValue
Headwordorifice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒɹɪfɪs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#38,533
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “orifice”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “opportunist” (#38,532), “ornamentation” (#38,534), “Opie” (#38,531). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “orifice” is #38,533. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around orifice (IPA /ˈɒɹɪfɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,533 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for orifice, with forms such as "oirfice", "orfiice", and "orifcie". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "office", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French, from Old French, from Late Latin ōrificium (“an opening, literally the making of a mouth”), compound of ōs (“mouth”) + faciō (“to make”). The correct English form is orifice, spelled O-R-I-F-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mouth or aperture, such as of a tube, pipe, etc.; an opening.
  2. 2
    One of the natural external openings of the human or animal body.
  3. 3
    A stupid or objectionable person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the orifice of an artery or vein; the orifice of a wound; he entered the cave's gaping orifice
  2. As none of the ovicells were observed to be closed by the operculum, presumably because they were empty and the opercula were resting on the primary orifice rim, the ovicell closure type is subcleithral rather than cleithral [51 ], at least in some species of the genus.

Etymology

From Middle French, from Old French, from Late Latin ōrificium (“an opening, literally the making of a mouth”), compound of ōs (“mouth”) + faciō (“to make”).

This word in other languages

orificio(Español)orifice(Français)Öffnung(Deutsch)orifício(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oirfice
  • orfiice
  • orifcie
  • oriffice
  • orificce
  • orifiec
  • oriifce
  • orrifice
  • roifice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

oirfice2orfiice2orifcie2oriffice1orificce1orifiec2oriifce2orrifice1
Edit distance from "orifice"

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 "orifice"?
"orifice" is spelled O-R-I-F-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒɹɪfɪs/.
What does "orifice" mean?
As a noun, "orifice" means: A mouth or aperture, such as of a tube, pipe, etc.; an opening.
What words are commonly confused with "orifice"?
"orifice" is commonly confused with "office". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "orifice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "orifice" is /ˈɒɹɪfɪs/. 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 "orifice"?
From Middle French, from Old French, from Late Latin ōrificium (“an opening, literally the making of a mouth”), compound of ōs (“mouth”) + faciō (“to make”). 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 "orifice", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

offbeat#38,526numeral#38,522nostril#38,519Nineveh#38,518

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

peerage9 variantsMendel9 variantsMehmet9 variantsRamesh9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list