toupee

/tuːˈpeɪ/

//tuːˈpeɪ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"toupee" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“toupee” is uncommon English (frequency #73,729 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,729
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A wig of false hair worn to cover a bald spot, especially as worn by a man.

Corpus desk

Index EN-toupee · toupee · English

toupee · rank #73,729 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,729
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tourer

Nearest frequency peer: tourer (+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 “toupee”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for toupee
PropertyValue
Headwordtoupee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tuːˈpeɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#73,729
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “toupee” 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).toupeefalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “tourer” (#73,730), “tousled” (#73,731), “Torry” (#73,726). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “toupee” is #73,729. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

toupee is uncommon English at frequency #73,729 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tuːˈpeɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for toupee in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1727, from French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Middle French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Old French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), diminutive of toupe, top (“tuft of hair”), from Frankish *topp (“summit, crest, t… The correct English form is toupee, spelled T-O-U-P-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A wig of false hair worn to cover a bald spot, especially as worn by a man.
  2. 2
    A small tuft; a curl or artificial lock of hair.
  3. 3
    A small wig, or a toppiece of a wig, worn by both sexes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonym: hair system
  2. Her powdered hair is turned backward over a toupee.

Etymology

1727, from French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Middle French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Old French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), diminutive of toupe, top (“tuft of hair”), from Frankish *topp (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”), from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”). Cognate with Old Dutch topp (“top”) (Dutch top), Old Frisian top (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”), Old English top (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”), Old High German zopf (“end, summit, tuft of hair”), Old Norse toppr (“tuft of hair, forelock”). More at top.

This word in other languages

peluquín(Español)toupet(Français)Toupet(Deutsch)

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 "toupee"?
"toupee" is spelled T-O-U-P-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /tuːˈpeɪ/.
What does "toupee" mean?
As a noun, "toupee" means: A wig of false hair worn to cover a bald spot, especially as worn by a man.
How do you pronounce "toupee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "toupee" is /tuːˈpeɪ/. 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 "toupee"?
1727, from French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Middle French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Old French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), diminutive of toupe, top (“tuft of hair”), from Frankish *topp (“summit... 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 "toupee", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tourer#73,730tilled#73,720Upjohn#73,762svelte#73,680

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list