terroir

/tɛːˈwɑː/

//tɛːˈwɑː// noun

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

The verdict

“terroir” is uncommon English (frequency #75,486 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,486
frequency rank, English
27,828
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The complete set of local conditions in which a particular wine or family of wines is produced, including soil type, weather conditions, topography, and wine-making savoir-faire.

Key facts for terroir
PropertyValue
Headwordterroir
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɛːˈwɑː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,486
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “terroir” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). terroir lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

terroir is uncommon English at frequency #75,486 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɛːˈwɑː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The complete set of local conditions in which a particular wine or family of wines is produced, including soil type, weather conditions, topography, and wine-making savoir-faire.".

terroir has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French terroir. The correct English form is terroir, spelled T-E-R-R-O-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The complete set of local conditions in which a particular wine or family of wines is produced, including soil type, weather conditions, topography, and wine-making savoir-faire.

Etymology

Borrowed from French terroir.

Synonyms

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 "terroir"?
"terroir" is spelled T-E-R-R-O-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is /tɛːˈwɑː/.
What does "terroir" mean?
As a noun, "terroir" means: The complete set of local conditions in which a particular wine or family of wines is produced, including soil type, weather conditions, topography, and wine-making savoir-faire.
How do you pronounce "terroir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "terroir" is /tɛːˈwɑː/. 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 "terroir"?
Borrowed from French terroir. 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.

Using “terroir”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is T-E-R-R-O-I-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /tɛːˈwɑː/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list