tête-à-tête
/ˌtɛt.əˈtɛt/
"tete-a-tete" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tête-à-tête” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A face-to-face meeting, or private conversation between two people, usually in an intimate setting; a head-to-head.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tête-à-tête |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌtɛt.əˈtɛt/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tête-à-tête” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tête-à-tête is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌtɛt.əˈtɛt/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
tête-à-tête doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French tête-à-tête (“head-to-head”). The correct English form is tête-à-tête, spelled T-Ê-T-E---À---T-Ê-T-E.
Definition
- 1A face-to-face meeting, or private conversation between two people, usually in an intimate setting; a head-to-head.
- 2A bench or sofa that allows two people to talk face-to-face, especially one that is S-shaped.
- 3A variety of early flowering, fragrant daffodil.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French tête-à-tête (“head-to-head”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "tête-à-tête"?
What does "tête-à-tête" mean?
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Using “tête-à-tête”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-Ê-T-E---À---T-Ê-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌtɛt.əˈtɛt/ (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
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.