trice

/tɹaɪs/

//tɹaɪs// verb

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

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

The verdict

“trice” is uncommon English (frequency #59,772 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,772
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pull, to pull out or away, to pull sharply.

Corpus desk

Index EN-trice · trice · English

trice · rank #59,772 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,772
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH triglyceride

Nearest frequency peer: triglyceride (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “trice”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “trice” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for trice
PropertyValue
Headwordtrice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/tɹaɪs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#59,772
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “trice” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).tricefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “triglyceride” (#59,773), “trillium” (#59,774), “trainwreck” (#59,769). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “trice” is #59,772. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

trice is uncommon English at frequency #59,772 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /tɹaɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for trice in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English trīcen, trice, trise (“to pull or push; to snatch away; to steal”), from Middle Dutch trīsen (“to hoist”) (modern Dutch trijsen) or Middle Low German trissen (“to trice the spritsail”); further etymology uncertain. The word is cognate wi… The correct English form is trice, spelled T-R-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To pull, to pull out or away, to pull sharply.
  2. 2
    To drag or haul, especially with a rope; specifically (nautical) to haul or hoist and tie up by means of a rope.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The tent is made of light, close, unbleached duck, […] A window, six inches square, is fitted at the upper end with a flap to trice up or haul down.
  2. ... the fold of his double chin hung like a bag triced up close under the hinge of his jaw.

Etymology

From Middle English trīcen, trice, trise (“to pull or push; to snatch away; to steal”), from Middle Dutch trīsen (“to hoist”) (modern Dutch trijsen) or Middle Low German trissen (“to trice the spritsail”); further etymology uncertain. The word is cognate with Danish trisse, tridse (“to haul with a pulley”), Low German trissen, tryssen, drisen, drysen (“to wind up, trice”), German trissen, triezen (“to annoy or torment”).

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 "trice"?
"trice" is spelled T-R-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹaɪs/.
What does "trice" mean?
As a verb, "trice" means: To pull, to pull out or away, to pull sharply.
How do you pronounce "trice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "trice" is /tɹaɪs/. 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 "trice"?
From Middle English trīcen, trice, trise (“to pull or push; to snatch away; to steal”), from Middle Dutch trīsen (“to hoist”) (modern Dutch trijsen) or Middle Low German trissen (“to trice the spritsail”); further etymology uncertain. The word is ... 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 "trice", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

taran#59,750vanna#59,794Vieux#59,797taber#59,745

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list