tribe

/tɹaɪb/

//tɹaɪb// noun

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

"tribe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tribe” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,923. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,923
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ethnic group larger than a band or clan (and which may contain clans) but smaller than a nation (and which in turn may constitute a nation with other tribes). The tribe is often the basis of eth...

Corpus desk

Index EN-tribe · tribe · English

tribe · rank #5,923 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,923
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tends

Nearest frequency peer: tends (-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 “tribe”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tribe” 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).

tribe vs true
60% similar
tribe vs trip
60% similar
tribe vs tube
60% similar

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

Key facts for tribe
PropertyValue
Headwordtribe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹaɪb/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,923
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tribe”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).tribelands 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 “tends” (#5,922), “unfortunate” (#5,924), “strongest” (#5,921). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tribe” is #5,923. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around tribe (IPA /tɹaɪb/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,923 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for tribe, with forms such as "rtibe", "tirbe", and "trbie". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "true", "trip", "tube", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tribe, tribu, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus. Doublet of tribus. The correct English form is tribe, spelled T-R-I-B-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ethnic group larger than a band or clan (and which may contain clans) but smaller than a nation (and which in turn may constitute a nation with other tribes). The tribe is often the basis of ethnic identity.
  2. 2
    A tribal nation or people.
  3. 3
    A nation or people considered culturally primitive, as may be the case in Africa, Australia or Native America.
  4. 4
    A socially cohesive group of people within a society.
  5. 5
    A class or group of things.
  6. 6
    A group of apes who live and work together.
  7. 7
    A hierarchical rank between family and genus.
  8. 8
    A group of affiliated Mardi Gras Indians.
  9. 9
    The collective noun for various animals.
  10. 10
    A family of animals descended from some particular female progenitor, through the female line.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the Twelve Tribes of Israel; Germanic tribes; Celtic tribes
  2. The Formation of Kazakh Identity: From Tribe to Nation-state

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tribe, tribu, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus. Doublet of tribus.

Synonyms

tribus

This word in other languages

tribu(Español)tribu(Français)Stamm(Deutsch)tribo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtibe
  • tirbe
  • trbie
  • tribbe
  • trieb
  • trribe
  • ttribe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtibe2tirbe2trbie2tribbe1trieb2trribe1ttribe1
Edit distance from "tribe"

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 "tribe"?
"tribe" is spelled T-R-I-B-E. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹaɪb/.
What does "tribe" mean?
As a noun, "tribe" means: An ethnic group larger than a band or clan (and which may contain clans) but smaller than a nation (and which in turn may constitute a nation with other tribes). The tribe is often the basis of eth...
What words are commonly confused with "tribe"?
"tribe" is commonly confused with "true", "trip", "tube". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tribe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tribe" is /tɹaɪb/. 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 "tribe"?
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tribe, tribu, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus. Doublet of tribus. 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 "tribe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tends#5,922ridge#5,914canon#5,940cared#5,942

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

divide7 variantscruel7 variantsbanner7 variantsArabia7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list