vice
/vaɪs/
"vice" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“vice” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,024 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,024
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bad or immoral behaviour.
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 | vice |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /vaɪs/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,024 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “vice” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for vice is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /vaɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,024 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for vice, with forms such as "ivce", "vcie", and "vicce". 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, "VIP", "vis", "vid", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw. The correct English form is vice, spelled V-I-C-E.
Definition
- 1Bad or immoral behaviour.
- 2Any of various crimes related (depending on jurisdiction) to weapons, prostitution, pornography, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.
- 3Clipping of vice squad.
- 4A defect in the temper or behaviour of a horse, such as to make the animal dangerous, to injure its health, or to diminish its usefulness.
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ivce,vcie,vicce,viec,vvice
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vice - 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 "vice"?
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Using “vice”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-I-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /vaɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “VIP” - see the side-by-side comparison. vice vs VIP
- 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.