pince-nez
/pænsˈneɪ/
"pince-nez" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pince-nez” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Templeless eyeglasses that clip to the bridge of the nose.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pince-nez |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pænsˈneɪ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pince-nez” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pince-nez is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pænsˈneɪ/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Templeless eyeglasses that clip to the bridge of the nose.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for pince-nez in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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: Borrowed from French pince-nez (literally “pinch-nose”). The correct English form is pince-nez, spelled P-I-N-C-E---N-E-Z.
Definition
- 1Templeless eyeglasses that clip to the bridge of the nose.
Etymology
Borrowed from French pince-nez (literally “pinch-nose”).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “pince-nez”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-I-N-C-E---N-E-Z - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pænsˈneɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.