vise

/vaɪs/

//vaɪs// noun

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

"vise" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vise” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #37,761) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#37,761
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vise · vise · English

vise · rank #37,761 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,761
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 3 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH Villanova

Nearest frequency peer: Villanova (-2 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 “vise”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “vise” 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).

vise vs Vos
25% similar
vise vs Viv
25% similar
vise vs VPS
0% similar

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

Key facts for vise
PropertyValue
Headwordvise
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/vaɪs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#37,761
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “vise”

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).viselands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Villanova” (#37,759), “VHF” (#37,758), “vandal” (#37,757). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vise” is #37,761. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for vise is neighbouring look-alikes ("Vos", "Viv", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /vaɪs/. Frequency #37,761 among 969 “V” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for vise, with forms such as "visse", "vsie", and "vvise". 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, "Vos", "Viv", "VPS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English vis, vys, vice (“screw”), from Anglo-Norman vyz, vice, from Old French vis (“screw”), from Latin vītis f (“vine”). Probably akin to English withe. The correct English form is vise, spelled V-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing.
  2. 2
    A situation in which one's freedom of choice is constrained.
  3. 3
    A screw.
  4. 4
    A spiral staircase.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Clamp this loop in a strong vise and twist the two ends evenly into one piece. As the twisting progresses, move the wire along so as to keep the grip of the vise close to the hands.
  2. I'd like to know what would become of us in the next ten minutes. They've got us in a vise. We're done for, Gall.

Etymology

From Middle English vis, vys, vice (“screw”), from Anglo-Norman vyz, vice, from Old French vis (“screw”), from Latin vītis f (“vine”). Probably akin to English withe.

This word in other languages

étau(Français)Schraubstock(Deutsch)torno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • visse
  • vsie
  • vvise

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vise - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

visse1vsie2vvise1
Edit distance from "vise"

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 "vise"?
"vise" is spelled V-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /vaɪs/.
What does "vise" mean?
As a noun, "vise" means: An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing.
What words are commonly confused with "vise"?
"vise" is commonly confused with "Vos", "Viv", "VPS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vise" is /vaɪs/. 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 "vise"?
From Middle English vis, vys, vice (“screw”), from Anglo-Norman vyz, vice, from Old French vis (“screw”), from Latin vītis f (“vine”). Probably akin to English withe. 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 "vise", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

whoo#37,768Zips#37,781Sulu#37,718bruv#37,837

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list