triage

/ˈtɹiː.ɑːʒ/

//ˈtɹiː.ɑːʒ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“triage” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,466. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,466
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Assessment or sorting according to quality, need, etc., especially to determine how resources will be allocated.

Corpus desk

Index EN-triage · triage · English

triage · rank #33,466 · 8 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,466
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH trappings

Nearest frequency peer: trappings (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “triage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “triage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

triage vs trig
67% similar
triage vs trial
67% similar
triage vs tribe
67% similar

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

Key facts for triage
PropertyValue
Headwordtriage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɹiː.ɑːʒ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#33,466
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “triage”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).triagelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “trappings” (#33,465), “ulterior” (#33,467), “transgression” (#33,464). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “triage” is #33,466. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around triage (IPA /ˈtɹiː.ɑːʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,466 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for triage, with forms such as "rtiage", "tirage", and "traige". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "trig", "trial", "tribe", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French triage, from trier (“to sort”). The correct English form is triage, spelled T-R-I-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Assessment or sorting according to quality, need, etc., especially to determine how resources will be allocated.
  2. 2
    The process of sorting patients so as to determine the order in which they will be treated (for example, by assigning precedence according to the urgency of illness or injury).
  3. 3
    The process of prioritizing bugs to be fixed.
  4. 4
    That which is picked out, especially broken coffee beans.
  5. 5
    A marshalling yard, classification yard.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Let us think of triage, and remember the word's origins. It began with French wool growers in the eighteenth century, but its most illuminating use comes from eighteenth century coffee bean growers, who sorted their beans into best, middling, and broken. The last category came to be known as 'triage coffee.' In war we attend to the most seriously wounded…
  2. [Mike Davis] notes that the 'late capitalist triage of humanity' has 'already taken place'.

Etymology

From French triage, from trier (“to sort”).

This word in other languages

sorteo(Español)Auswahl(Deutsch)triagem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtiage
  • tirage
  • traige
  • triaeg
  • triagge
  • trigae
  • trriage
  • ttriage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of triage - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

rtiage2tirage2traige2triaeg2triagge1trigae2trriage1ttriage1
Edit distance from "triage"

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 "triage"?
"triage" is spelled T-R-I-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹiː.ɑːʒ/.
What does "triage" mean?
As a noun, "triage" means: Assessment or sorting according to quality, need, etc., especially to determine how resources will be allocated.
What words are commonly confused with "triage"?
"triage" is commonly confused with "trig", "trial", "tribe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "triage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "triage" is /ˈtɹiː.ɑːʒ/. 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 "triage"?
From French triage, from trier (“to sort”). 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 "triage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

undies#33,471Tomlin#33,458toffee#33,456Wessex#33,483

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

whiny8 variantsswish8 variantsZheng8 variantsairbag8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list