recourse
/ɹɪˈkɔːs/
"recourse" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“recourse” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,957 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #19,957
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of seeking assistance or advice.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | recourse |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈkɔːs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #19,957 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “recourse” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for recourse is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈkɔːs/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,957 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for recourse, with forms such as "ercourse", "rceourse", and "reccourse". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "remorse", "resource", "recluse", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English recours (noun) and recoursen (verb), from Old French recours, from Latin recursus, past participle of recurrō. The correct English form is recourse, spelled R-E-C-O-U-R-S-E.
Definition
- 1The act of seeking assistance or advice.
- 2The use of (someone or something) as a source of help in a difficult situation.
- 3A coursing back, or coursing again; renewed course; return; retreat; recurrence.
- 4Access; admittance.
Etymology
From Middle English recours (noun) and recoursen (verb), from Old French recours, from Latin recursus, past participle of recurrō.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ercourse,rceourse,reccourse,recoruse,recoures,recourrse,recoursse,recousre,recuorse,reocurse,rrecourse
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of recourse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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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Using “recourse”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-C-O-U-R-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈkɔːs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “remorse” - see the side-by-side comparison. recourse vs remorse
- 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.