par for the course
/ˈpɑː fə ðə ˈkɔːs/
"par-for-the-course" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“par for the course” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 18
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be expected; normal; common.
Corpus desk
Index EN-par-for-the-course · par for the course · English
par for the course · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 18 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" 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 | par for the course |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpɑː fə ðə ˈkɔːs/ |
| Letters | 18 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “par for the course” in English
Rare enough to double-check
par for the course is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈpɑː fə ðə ˈkɔːs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To be expected; normal; common.".
No misspelling variants are generated for par for the course in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Originally a phrase used in golf. Ironically, completing a golf course in par (or even net par) is actually unusually good for most golfers and is not a typical result. The correct English form is par for the course, spelled P-A-R- -F-O-R- -T-H-E- -C-O-U-R-S-E.
Definition
- 1To be expected; normal; common.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how par for the course appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It took a long time to finish, but that's par for the course on a project like this.
[…] Nigella Lawson and Ralph Fiennes, we were told, might pop by later. The Gopniks smiled calmly: this was all par for the course for them.
Etymology
Originally a phrase used in golf. Ironically, completing a golf course in par (or even net par) is actually unusually good for most golfers and is not a typical result.
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.