vestry

/ˈvɛstɹi/

//ˈvɛstɹi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“vestry” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,506. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,506
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vestry · vestry · English

vestry · rank #40,506 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,506
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH vestibule

Nearest frequency peer: vestibule (-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 “vestry”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “vestry” 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).

vestry vs very
67% similar
vestry vs vest
67% similar
vestry vs Vesta
50% similar

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

Key facts for vestry
PropertyValue
Headwordvestry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvɛstɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#40,506
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “vestry”

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).vestrylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “vestibule” (#40,505), “Vigo” (#40,507), “vax” (#40,503). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vestry” is #40,506. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around vestry (IPA /ˈvɛstɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,506 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for vestry, with forms such as "evstry", "vesrty", and "vesstry". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "very", "vest", "Vesta", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary. The correct English form is vestry, spelled V-E-S-T-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.
  2. 2
    An assembly of persons (ad hoc or recurrent) who manage parochial affairs; so called because usually held in a vestry.
  3. 3
    A committee of parishioners elected to administer the temporal affairs of a parish.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The choirboys change into their cassocks in the vestry.
  2. What a day, eh? Demmy, it's like the commencement of the rainy season in Bengal. But you'll find my carriage is watertight. Come along, my mother and Emmy are in the vestry.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary.

This word in other languages

sacristie(Français)Sakristei(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • evstry
  • vesrty
  • vesstry
  • vestrry
  • vestryy
  • vesttry
  • vestyr
  • vetsry
  • vsetry
  • vvestry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vestry - 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.

evstry2vesrty2vesstry1vestrry1vestryy1vesttry1vestyr2vetsry2
Edit distance from "vestry"

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 "vestry"?
"vestry" is spelled V-E-S-T-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɛstɹi/.
What does "vestry" mean?
As a noun, "vestry" means: A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.
What words are commonly confused with "vestry"?
"vestry" is commonly confused with "very", "vest", "Vesta". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vestry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vestry" is /ˈvɛstɹi/. 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 "vestry"?
From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary. 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 "vestry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

uplink#40,500untied#40,498weevil#40,515wintry#40,521

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

twisty10 variantstoolbar10 variantsTheseus10 variantsacrobat10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list