trellis

/ˈtɹɛlɪs/

//ˈtɹɛlɪs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“trellis” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #47,974 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#47,974
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An outdoor garden frame that can be used for partitioning a common area.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

trellis vs tells
71% similar
trellis vs tellin
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for trellis
PropertyValue
Headwordtrellis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɹɛlɪs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#47,974
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “trellis” 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). trellis lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for trellis is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɹɛlɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #47,974 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for trellis, with forms such as "rtellis", "terllis", and "trelils". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "tells", "tellin", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English trelis, from Anglo-Norman treslis, from Old French treille (“arbor”), from Latin trichila (“arbor", "summer house”). However, see OED which claims another Old French form referring to sackcloth, from Vulgar Latin. The correct English form is trellis, spelled T-R-E-L-L-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An outdoor garden frame that can be used for partitioning a common area.
  2. 2
    An outdoor garden frame that can be used to grow vines or other climbing plants.
  3. 3
    A kind of graph, used in communication theory and encryption, whose nodes are ordered into vertical slices by time, with each node at each time connected to at least one node at an earlier and at least one node at a later time.

Etymology

From Middle English trelis, from Anglo-Norman treslis, from Old French treille (“arbor”), from Latin trichila (“arbor", "summer house”). However, see OED which claims another Old French form referring to sackcloth, from Vulgar Latin.

Synonyms

treillage

This word in other languages

enrejado(Español)treillage(Français)Gatter(Deutsch)treliça(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: rtellis,terllis,trelils,trelis,trelliss,trellsi,trlelis,trrellis,ttrellis

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of trellis - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

rtellis2terllis2trelils2trelis1trelliss1trellsi2trlelis2trrellis1
Edit distance from "trellis"

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 "trellis"?
"trellis" is spelled T-R-E-L-L-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹɛlɪs/.
What does "trellis" mean?
As a noun, "trellis" means: An outdoor garden frame that can be used for partitioning a common area.
What words are commonly confused with "trellis"?
"trellis" is commonly confused with "tells", "tellin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "trellis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "trellis" is /ˈtɹɛlɪs/. 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 "trellis"?
From Middle English trelis, from Anglo-Norman treslis, from Old French treille (“arbor”), from Latin trichila (“arbor", "summer house”). However, see OED which claims another Old French form referring to sackcloth, from Vulgar Latin. 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 “trellis”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is T-R-E-L-L-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈtɹɛlɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “tells” - see the side-by-side comparison. trellis vs tells
  • 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.

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

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