out of sorts
"out-of-sorts" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“out of sorts” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Irritable or somewhat unwell, with vague medical symptoms.
Corpus desk
Index EN-out-of-sorts · out of sorts · English
out of sorts · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | out of sorts |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “out of sorts” in English
Rare enough to double-check
out of sorts is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for out of sorts in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Comes from printing terminology where "sort" means a metal type for printing a particular letter. The correct English form is out of sorts, spelled O-U-T- -O-F- -S-O-R-T-S.
Definition
- 1Irritable or somewhat unwell, with vague medical symptoms.
- 2With some letters or sorts of type deficient or exhausted in the case or font.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how out of sorts appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[T]he trooper fails to fasten the brooch. His hand shakes, he is nervous, and it falls off. "Would any one believe this?" says he, catching it as it drops and looking round. "I am so out of sorts that I bungle at an easy job like this!"
"My lads," said he, "we've had a hot day and are all tired and out of sorts."
Etymology
Comes from printing terminology where "sort" means a metal type for printing a particular letter.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.