vessel

/ˈvɛs.əl/

//ˈvɛs.əl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“vessel” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,565. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,565
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vessel · vessel · English

vessel · rank #4,565 · 7 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,565
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH utility

Nearest frequency peer: utility (-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 “vessel”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “vessel” 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).

vessel vs vested
67% similar
vessel vs Vettel
50% similar
vessel vs vessels
86% similar

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

Key facts for vessel
PropertyValue
Headwordvessel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvɛs.əl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,565
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “vessel”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).vessellands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “utility” (#4,564), “weed” (#4,566), “tune” (#4,563). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vessel” is #4,565. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around vessel (IPA /ˈvɛs.əl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,565 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for vessel, with forms such as "evssel", "vesel", and "vesesl". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "vested", "Vettel", "vessels", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wāss Late Latin vās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elom Late Latin -ulum Late Latin -culum Late Latin vāsculum Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Late Latin -lus Late Latin vāscellum Old French vaisselbor. M… The correct English form is vessel, spelled V-E-S-S-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.
  2. 2
    A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.
  3. 3
    Dishes and cutlery collectively, especially if made of precious metals.
  4. 4
    A container of liquid or other substance, such as a glass, goblet, cup, bottle, bowl, or pitcher.
  5. 5
    A person as a container of qualities or feelings.
  6. 6
    A tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But my hope was, that if I stood along this coast till I came to that part where the English traded, I should find some of their vessels upon their usual design of trade, that would relieve and take us in.
  2. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, […] naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several states on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wāss Late Latin vās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elom Late Latin -ulum Late Latin -culum Late Latin vāsculum Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Late Latin -lus Late Latin vāscellum Old French vaisselbor. Middle English vessel English vessel Inherited from Middle English vessel, vessell (“small container”); from Old French vaissel (compare modern French vaisseau and Catalan vaixell), from Late Latin vāscellum, diminutive of vāsculum, diminutive of vās (“vase, vessel”).

Synonyms

vessel

This word in other languages

embarcación(Español)vaisseau(Français)Schiff(Deutsch)barco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • evssel
  • vesel
  • vesesl
  • vessell
  • vessle
  • vsesel
  • vvessel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

evssel2vesel1vesesl2vessell1vessle2vsesel2vvessel1
Edit distance from "vessel"

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 "vessel"?
"vessel" is spelled V-E-S-S-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɛs.əl/.
What does "vessel" mean?
As a noun, "vessel" means: A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.
What words are commonly confused with "vessel"?
"vessel" is commonly confused with "vested", "Vettel", "vessels". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vessel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vessel" is /ˈvɛs.əl/. 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 "vessel"?
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wāss Late Latin vās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elom Late Latin -ulum Late Latin -culum Late Latin vāsculum Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Late Latin -lus Late Latin vāscellum Old French vai... 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 "vessel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

trains#4,560topics#4,559angels#4,573stroke#4,555

Similar misspelling depth

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

Tokyo7 variantssized7 variantsquest7 variantsMurray7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list