rencontre

noun

"rencontre" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rencontre” is uncommon English (frequency #94,185 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,185
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A chance or unexpected meeting or encounter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rencontre · rencontre · English

rencontre · rank #94,185 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,185
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH remapping

Nearest frequency peer: remapping (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “rencontre”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “rencontre” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for rencontre
PropertyValue
Headwordrencontre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#94,185
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rencontre” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).rencontrefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “remapping” (#94,184), “reorganising” (#94,188), “redwing” (#94,181). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rencontre” is #94,185. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rencontre is uncommon English at frequency #94,185 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A chance or unexpected meeting or encounter.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for rencontre, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French rencontre. The correct English form is rencontre, spelled R-E-N-C-O-N-T-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A chance or unexpected meeting or encounter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In the entrance hall I was somewhat surprised, and my fair companion still more so, when we met Rashleigh Osbaldistone, who could not help shewing equal wonder at our rencontre.
  2. Mr. Gadsden hesitated, jealous and scrupulous now in his actions where ladies were concerned, and more especially anxious on that day that the two circumstances, the rencontre of the morning and the visit of the evening, should not be coupled together by the Northington people.

Etymology

From Middle French rencontre.

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

How do you spell "rencontre"?
"rencontre" is spelled R-E-N-C-O-N-T-R-E.
What does "rencontre" mean?
As a noun, "rencontre" means: A chance or unexpected meeting or encounter.
What is the origin of the word "rencontre"?
From Middle French rencontre. 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 "rencontre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list