vetch

/vɛt͡ʃ/

//vɛt͡ʃ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“vetch” is uncommon English (frequency #77,322 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,322
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of several leguminous plants, of the genus Vicia, often grown as green manure and for their edible seeds.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vetch · vetch · English

vetch · rank #77,322 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,322
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH verisimilitude

Nearest frequency peer: verisimilitude (-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 “vetch”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for vetch
PropertyValue
Headwordvetch
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/vɛt͡ʃ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#77,322
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “vetch” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).vetchfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “verisimilitude” (#77,321), “Verano” (#77,320), “velveteen” (#77,319). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vetch” is #77,322. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

vetch is uncommon English at frequency #77,322 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /vɛt͡ʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

vetch doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English vecche, fecche, ficche, from Old Northern French veche, variant of Old French vece, from Latin vicia. Doublet of fitch. The correct English form is vetch, spelled V-E-T-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of several leguminous plants, of the genus Vicia, often grown as green manure and for their edible seeds.
  2. 2
    Any of several similar plants within the subfamily Faboideae.

Etymology

From Middle English vecche, fecche, ficche, from Old Northern French veche, variant of Old French vece, from Latin vicia. Doublet of fitch.

Synonyms

tare

This word in other languages

veza(Español)vesce(Français)Wicke(Deutsch)

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 "vetch"?
"vetch" is spelled V-E-T-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /vɛt͡ʃ/.
What does "vetch" mean?
As a noun, "vetch" means: Any of several leguminous plants, of the genus Vicia, often grown as green manure and for their edible seeds.
How do you pronounce "vetch"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vetch" is /vɛt͡ʃ/. 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 "vetch"?
From Middle English vecche, fecche, ficche, from Old Northern French veche, variant of Old French vece, from Latin vicia. Doublet of fitch. 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 "vetch", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Yayoi#77,354Yulin#77,358Tomic#77,282Alcan#77,389

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list