ouzo
/ˈuːzəʊ/
"ouzo" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ouzo” is uncommon English (frequency #99,665 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,665
- frequency rank, English
- 1,431
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An anise-flavoured aperitif, originating in Greece.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ouzo · ouzo · English
ouzo · rank #99,665 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #99,665
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,431
- PHOTO-FINISH overrate
Nearest frequency peer: overrate (+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.
Long-tail ranks near “ouzo”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Oulton
Oulton
339 corpus weight
- ouzo
ouzo
336 corpus weight
- overrate
overrate
335 corpus weight
- Pahrump
Pahrump
334 corpus weight
- panch
panch
333 corpus weight
- paned
paned
332 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ouzo” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ouzo |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈuːzəʊ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #99,665 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ouzo” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ouzo is uncommon English at frequency #99,665 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈuːzəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for ouzo in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Greek ούζο (oúzo), either from Turkish üzüm (“grape”) or from the Italian uso in Marsiglia (“for use in Marseille”) stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century, standing for “superior quality”. Other: from the ancien… The correct English form is ouzo, spelled O-U-Z-O.
Definition
- 1An anise-flavoured aperitif, originating in Greece.
- 2A serving of this drink.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ouzo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Jai went in and poured out two glasses of ouzo, throwing a splash of water. He stuck his finger into each and stirred; the liquor swirled and got foggy.
In Athens he looked up from his ouzo at what he called the ugliest people in the world.
Etymology
From Greek ούζο (oúzo), either from Turkish üzüm (“grape”) or from the Italian uso in Marsiglia (“for use in Marseille”) stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century, standing for “superior quality”. Other: from the ancient Greek word ὄζω (ózō, “to smell”) - ὀσμή (osmḗ, “smell”) because of the strong smell of the drink.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ouzo", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).