ours

/ˈaʊəz/

//ˈaʊəz// pron

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

"ours" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ours” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,527. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,527
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - That or those belonging to us.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ours · ours · English

ours · rank #5,527 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,527
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH parade

Nearest frequency peer: parade (+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 “ours”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ours” 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).

ours vs out
50% similar
ours vs OWS
0% similar
ours vs owns
50% similar

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

Key facts for ours
PropertyValue
Headwordours
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPronoun
IPA/ˈaʊəz/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,527
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ours”

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).ourslands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “parade” (#5,528), “Neil” (#5,525), “paradise” (#5,529). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ours” is #5,527. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around ours (IPA /ˈaʊəz/), apronoun. Corpus frequency is #5,527 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for ours, with forms such as "orus", "ourrs", and "ourss". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "out", "OWS", "owns", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English oures, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to our + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced ourn (from Middle English ouren) in standard speech. The correct English form is ours, spelled O-U-R-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    That or those belonging to us.
  2. 2
    That or those belonging to us.
  3. 3
    That or those belonging to any entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.
  4. 4
    That or those belonging to people in general.
  5. 5
    That or those belonging to everyone being addressed.
  6. 6
    That or those belonging to an individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given.
  7. 7
    Used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences or activities and a group of listeners.
  8. 8
    Our house or home.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. You can't take that! It's ours!
  2. Could we ask you to move, please. These seats are ours.

Etymology

From Middle English oures, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to our + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced ourn (from Middle English ouren) in standard speech.

This word in other languages

le nôtre(Français)unserer(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • orus
  • ourrs
  • ourss
  • ousr
  • uors

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

orus2ourrs1ourss1ousr2uors2
Edit distance from "ours"

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 "ours"?
"ours" is spelled O-U-R-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈaʊəz/.
What does "ours" mean?
As a pronoun, "ours" means: That or those belonging to us.
What words are commonly confused with "ours"?
"ours" is commonly confused with "out", "OWS", "owns". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ours"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ours" is /ˈaʊəz/. 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 "ours"?
From Middle English oures, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to our + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced ourn (from Middle English ouren) in standard speech. 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 "ours", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Neil#5,525pics#5,531icon#5,504flew#5,497

Similar misspelling depth

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

Maine5 variantsthou5 variantsaunt5 variantsThai5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list