reveille

/ɹɪˈvæ.li/

//ɹɪˈvæ.li// noun

"reveille" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“reveille” is uncommon English (frequency #70,210 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,210
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The sounding of a bugle or drum early in the morning to awaken soldiers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-reveille · reveille · English

reveille · rank #70,210 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,210
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reticulated

Nearest frequency peer: reticulated (-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 “reveille”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for reveille
PropertyValue
Headwordreveille
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈvæ.li/
Letters8
Frequency rank#70,210
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “reveille” 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).reveillefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “reticulated” (#70,209), “repairable” (#70,206), “renege” (#70,205). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reveille” is #70,210. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

reveille is uncommon English at frequency #70,210 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɹɪˈvæ.li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The sounding of a bugle or drum early in the morning to awaken soldiers.".

reveille doesn't appear in our generated misspelling 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, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French réveillez, imperative form of réveiller (“to wake”). The correct English form is reveille, spelled R-E-V-E-I-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The sounding of a bugle or drum early in the morning to awaken soldiers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. A bugler and his brisk reveille woke them most mornings.

Etymology

From French réveillez, imperative form of réveiller (“to wake”).

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); 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 "reveille"?
"reveille" is spelled R-E-V-E-I-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈvæ.li/.
What does "reveille" mean?
As a noun, "reveille" means: The sounding of a bugle or drum early in the morning to awaken soldiers.
How do you pronounce "reveille"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reveille" is /ɹɪˈvæ.li/. 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 "reveille"?
From French réveillez, imperative form of réveiller (“to wake”). 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 "reveille", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list