oversea

/ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/

//ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː// adj

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

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

The verdict

“oversea” is uncommon English (frequency #66,171 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,171
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative form of overseas.

Corpus desk

Index EN-oversea · oversea · English

oversea · rank #66,171 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,171
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH palatinate

Nearest frequency peer: palatinate (+2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “oversea”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “oversea” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for oversea
PropertyValue
Headwordoversea
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#66,171
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “oversea” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

oversea is uncommon English at frequency #66,171 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative form of overseas.".

Zero misspellings are on record for oversea in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English over-se, over see, ouer sea, from Old English ofer sǣ (literally “over/across (the) sea”); equivalent to over + sea. Compare West Frisian oerseesk, Dutch overzee, German Übersee, Danish oversøisk. The correct English form is oversea, spelled O-V-E-R-S-E-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative form of overseas.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. It was the biggest thing in the town, and everybody I met was full of it. They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade.

Etymology

From Middle English over-se, over see, ouer sea, from Old English ofer sǣ (literally “over/across (the) sea”); equivalent to over + sea. Compare West Frisian oerseesk, Dutch overzee, German Übersee, Danish oversøisk.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "oversea"?
"oversea" is spelled O-V-E-R-S-E-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/.
What does "oversea" mean?
As an adjective, "oversea" means: Alternative form of overseas.
How do you pronounce "oversea"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "oversea" is /ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/. 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 "oversea"?
From Middle English over-se, over see, ouer sea, from Old English ofer sǣ (literally “over/across (the) sea”); equivalent to over + sea. Compare West Frisian oerseesk, Dutch overzee, German Übersee, Danish oversøisk. 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 "oversea", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Pauling#66,180pergola#66,189nostrum#66,144pothead#66,210

What to do next

You've looked up "oversea". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #66,171 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list