valve
/ˈvælv/
"valve" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“valve” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,848 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,848
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a space, such as a pipe, manifold, or plenum.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | valve |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈvælv/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #5,848 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “valve” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for valve is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈvælv/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,848 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for valve, with forms such as "avlve", "valev", and "vallve". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "vile", "vase", "vape", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English valve, from Latin valva (“double door, valve”). Doublet of valva. The correct English form is valve, spelled V-A-L-V-E.
Definition
- 1A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a space, such as a pipe, manifold, or plenum.
- 2A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a space, such as a pipe, manifold, or plenum.
- 3One or more membranous partitions, flaps, or folds, which permit the passage of the contents of a vessel or cavity in one direction, but stop or control the flow in the opposite direction.
- 4One of the leaves of a folding door or of a window sash.
- 5A vacuum tube.
- 6One of the pieces into which certain fruits naturally separate when they dehisce.
- 7A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, such as in the barberry.
- 8One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells.
- 9One of the two similar portions of the shell of a diatom.
Etymology
From Middle English valve, from Latin valva (“double door, valve”). Doublet of valva.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: avlve,valev,vallve,valvve,vavle,vlave,vvalve
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of valve - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "valve"?
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Using “valve”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-A-L-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈvælv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “vile” - see the side-by-side comparison. valve vs vile
- 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.