trice
/tɹaɪs/
"trice" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“trice” is an uncommon English word, ranked #59,772 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #59,772
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To pull, to pull out or away, to pull sharply.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | trice |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /tɹaɪs/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #59,772 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “trice” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for trice is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tɹaɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #59,772 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1To pull, to pull out or away, to pull sharply.
- 2To drag or haul, especially with a rope; specifically (nautical) to haul or hoist and tie up by means of a rope.
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
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Using “trice”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-R-I-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɹaɪs/ (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
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.