rule off

verb

"rule-off" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rule off” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To draw a line underneath, for example to mark the end of a topic or of an accounting period.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rule-off · rule off · English

rule off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" 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.

Key facts for rule off
PropertyValue
Headwordrule off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rule off” in English

rule offsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rule off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To draw a line underneath, for example to mark the end of a topic or of an accounting period.".

rule off has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is rule off, spelled R-U-L-E- -O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To draw a line underneath, for example to mark the end of a topic or of an accounting period.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The correctness of the accounts receivable ledger is ascertained by comparison of its balance with that of the control account. The practice of arbitrarily ruling off accounts in the ledger at the end of each month because of the fact that creamery operation usually is divided into monthly periods is not recommended, since it is intended that the ledger s…

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

How do you spell "rule off"?
"rule off" is spelled R-U-L-E- -O-F-F.
What does "rule off" mean?
As a verb, "rule off" means: To draw a line underneath, for example to mark the end of a topic or of an accounting period.
What language does "rule off" come from?
"rule off" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list