tress
/tɹɛs/
"tress" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tress” is uncommon English (frequency #63,321 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,321
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tress |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɹɛs/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #63,321 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tress” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
tress is uncommon English at frequency #63,321 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɹɛs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
tress has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tresse, from Old French tresce, of uncertain origin; possibly from Vulgar Latin *trichia, from Ancient Greek τριχία (trikhía, “rope”), from θρίξ (thríx, “hair”). Compare French tresse, Italian treccia. The correct English form is tress, spelled T-R-E-S-S.
Definition
- 1A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet.
- 2A long lock of hair.
- 3A knot or festoon, as of flowers.
Etymology
From Middle English tresse, from Old French tresce, of uncertain origin; possibly from Vulgar Latin *trichia, from Ancient Greek τριχία (trikhía, “rope”), from θρίξ (thríx, “hair”). Compare French tresse, Italian treccia.
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 "tress"?
What does "tress" mean?
How do you pronounce "tress"?
What is the origin of the word "tress"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “tress”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-R-E-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɹɛs/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.