vie

/vaɪ/

//vaɪ// verb

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

"vie" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vie” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #18,456) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#18,456
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To fight for superiority; to contend; to compete eagerly so as to gain something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vie · vie · English

vie · rank #18,456 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,456
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH Vicky

Nearest frequency peer: Vicky (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “vie”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “vie” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

vie vs VR
0% similar
vie vs VP
0% similar
vie vs VW
0% similar

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

Key facts for vie
PropertyValue
Headwordvie
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/vaɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#18,456
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “vie”

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

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “Vicky” (#18,455), “Vijay” (#18,457), “unilateral” (#18,454). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vie” is #18,456. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for vie is neighbouring look-alikes ("VR", "VP", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /vaɪ/. Frequency #18,456 among 969 “V” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for vie in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "VR", "VP", "VW", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Apheretic form of envy. The correct English form is vie, spelled V-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To fight for superiority; to contend; to compete eagerly so as to gain something.
  2. 2
    To rival (something), etc.
  3. 3
    To do or produce in emulation, competition, or rivalry; to put in competition; to bandy.
  4. 4
    To stake; to wager.
  5. 5
    To stake a sum of money upon a hand of cards, as in the old game of gleek. See revie.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonym: oppose
  2. Her suitors were all vying for her attention.

Etymology

Apheretic form of envy.

This word in other languages

competir(Español)concourir(Français)wetteifern(Deutsch)competir(Português)

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 "vie"?
"vie" is spelled V-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is /vaɪ/.
What does "vie" mean?
As a verb, "vie" means: To fight for superiority; to contend; to compete eagerly so as to gain something.
What words are commonly confused with "vie"?
"vie" is commonly confused with "VR", "VP", "VW". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vie" is /vaɪ/. 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 "vie"?
Apheretic form of envy. 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 "vie", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

yin#18,465tat#18,446Yun#18,4663DS#18,468

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list