tor
/tɔː/
"tor" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tor” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,625 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #13,625
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A craggy outcrop of rock on the summit of a hill, created by the erosion and weathering of rock.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɔː/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #13,625 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tor” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tor is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tɔː/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,625 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for tor, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TV", "TX", "Tu", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tor, torr-, from Old English torr, tor (“a high rock, lofty hill, tower”), possibly from Proto-Celtic, compare Old Welsh *tor (“hill”); ultimately from Latin turris (“tower”), from Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis), τύρσις (túrsis, “tower”)… The correct English form is tor, spelled T-O-R.
Definition
- 1A craggy outcrop of rock on the summit of a hill, created by the erosion and weathering of rock.
- 2A hill with such rock formation.
Etymology
From Middle English tor, torr-, from Old English torr, tor (“a high rock, lofty hill, tower”), possibly from Proto-Celtic, compare Old Welsh *tor (“hill”); ultimately from Latin turris (“tower”), from Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis), τύρσις (túrsis, “tower”), of non-Indo-European origin. Cognate with Cornish tor, Scottish Gaelic tòrr, Welsh twr, Irish tor, French tor, and Romansh tor/tur/tuor; the first four are Celtic (from Latin turris), the last two directly from Latin turris (from Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis) and τύρσις (túrsis)). It is not clear whether the Celtic forms were borrowed from Old English or vice versa. Doublet of tourelle, tower, and turret.
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 "tor"?
What does "tor" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "tor"?
How do you pronounce "tor"?
What is the origin of the word "tor"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “tor”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɔː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “TV” - see the side-by-side comparison. tor vs TV
- 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.