pace

/peɪs/

//peɪs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“pace” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,773. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,773
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A step.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pace · pace · English

pace · rank #3,773 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,773
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 46,516
  • PHOTO-FINISH Oxford

Nearest frequency peer: Oxford (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pace”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pace” 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 May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pace vs PC
0% similar
pace vs PE
0% similar
pace vs pay
50% similar

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

Key facts for pace
PropertyValue
Headwordpace
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/peɪs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,773
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pace” 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). pace lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around pace (IPA /peɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,773 among 46,516 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for pace, with forms such as "apce", "pacce", and "paec". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PC", "PE", "pay", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pase, from Anglo-Norman pas, Old French pas, and their source, Latin passus. Doublet of pas and fathom; compare also pass. Cognate with Spanish pasear. The correct English form is pace, spelled P-A-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A step.
  2. 2
    A step.
  3. 3
    A way of stepping.
  4. 4
    A way of stepping.
  5. 5
    Speed or velocity in general.
  6. 6
    A measure of the hardness of a pitch and of the tendency of a cricket ball to maintain its speed after bouncing.
  7. 7
    A group of donkeys.
  8. 8
    A passage, a route.
  9. 9
    A passage, a route.
  10. 10
    A passage, a route.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Even at the duel, standing 10 paces apart, he could have satisfied Aaron’s honor.
  2. I have perambulated your field, and estimate its perimeter to be 219 paces.

Etymology

From Middle English pase, from Anglo-Norman pas, Old French pas, and their source, Latin passus. Doublet of pas and fathom; compare also pass. Cognate with Spanish pasear.

This word in other languages

paso(Español)pas(Français)Schritt(Deutsch)ritmo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apce
  • pacce
  • paec
  • pcae
  • ppace

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

apce2pacce1paec2pcae2ppace1
Edit distance from "pace"

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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pace"?
"pace" is spelled P-A-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /peɪs/.
What does "pace" mean?
As a noun, "pace" means: A step.
What words are commonly confused with "pace"?
"pace" is commonly confused with "PC", "PE", "pay". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pace"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pace" is /peɪs/. 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 "pace"?
From Middle English pase, from Anglo-Norman pas, Old French pas, and their source, Latin passus. Doublet of pas and fathom; compare also pass. Cognate with Spanish pasear. 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 "pace", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pope#3,776mill#3,769spin#3,786anna#3,798

Similar misspelling depth

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

grass5 variantsAllen5 variantshook5 variantsGary5 variants
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