tranche

/tɹɑ̃ʃ/

//tɹɑ̃ʃ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tranche” is uncommon English (frequency #55,820 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,820
frequency rank, English
27,828
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A slice, section or portion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tranche · tranche · English

tranche · rank #55,820 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,820
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 27,828
  • PHOTO-FINISH trainspotting

Nearest frequency peer: trainspotting (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “tranche”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tranche” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for tranche
PropertyValue
Headwordtranche
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹɑ̃ʃ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#55,820
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tranche” 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). tranche 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

tranche is uncommon English at frequency #55,820 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɹɑ̃ʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for tranche in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French tranche, form of trancher (“to cut, to slice”), from Old French trenchier (“cut, make a cut”), possibly from Vulgar Latin *trinicāre (“cut in three parts”). Doublet of traunch and trench. The correct English form is tranche, spelled T-R-A-N-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A slice, section or portion.
  2. 2
    A distinct subdivision of a single policyholder's benefits, typically relating to separate premium increments.
  3. 3
    A pension scheme's or scheme member's benefits relating to distinct accrual periods with different rules.
  4. 4
    One of a set of classes or risk maturities that compose a multiple-class security, such as a CMO or REMIC; a class of bonds. Collateralized mortgage obligations are structured with several tranches of bonds that have various maturities.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French tranche, form of trancher (“to cut, to slice”), from Old French trenchier (“cut, make a cut”), possibly from Vulgar Latin *trinicāre (“cut in three parts”). Doublet of traunch and trench.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tranche"?
"tranche" is spelled T-R-A-N-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹɑ̃ʃ/.
What does "tranche" mean?
As a noun, "tranche" means: A slice, section or portion.
How do you pronounce "tranche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tranche" is /tɹɑ̃ʃ/. 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 "tranche"?
Unadapted borrowing from French tranche, form of trancher (“to cut, to slice”), from Old French trenchier (“cut, make a cut”), possibly from Vulgar Latin *trinicāre (“cut in three parts”). Doublet of traunch and trench. 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 "tranche", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Tinsley#55,809Waldman#55,847sundial#55,781Wishart#55,861
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