outflank
"outflank" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“outflank” is uncommon English (frequency #70,980 among 15,494 “O” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #70,980
- frequency rank, English
- 15,494
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To maneuver around and behind the flank of (an opposing force).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | outflank |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #70,980 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “outflank” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
outflank is uncommon English at frequency #70,980 among 15,494 “O” headwords, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for outflank in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From out- + flank. The correct English form is outflank, spelled O-U-T-F-L-A-N-K.
Definition
- 1To maneuver around and behind the flank of (an opposing force).
- 2To gain a tactical advantage over (a competitor, for example).
Etymology
From out- + flank.
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); 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
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Using “outflank”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-U-T-F-L-A-N-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.