voice

/vɔɪs/

//vɔɪs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“voice” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #918 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#918
frequency rank, English
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

voice vs vote
60% similar
voice vs void
60% similar
voice vs VoIP
20% similar

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

Key facts for voice
PropertyValue
Headwordvoice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/vɔɪs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#918
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “voice” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for voice is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /vɔɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #918 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for voice, with forms such as "ovice", "vioce", and "vocie". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "vote", "void", "VoIP", 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 Middle English voice, voys, vois, borrowed from Anglo-Norman voiz, voys, voice, Old French vois, voiz (Modern French voix), from Latin vōcem, accusative form of vōx (“voice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs, root noun from *wekʷ- (“to utter, speak”). … The correct English form is voice, spelled V-O-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character.
  2. 2
    Sound made through vibration of the vocal cords; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in whispering and voiceless consonants.
  3. 3
    The tone or sound emitted by an object.
  4. 4
    The faculty or power of utterance.
  5. 5
    That which is communicated; message; meaning.
  6. 6
    An expressed opinion, choice, will, desire, or wish; the right or ability to make such expression or to have it considered.
  7. 7
    Command; precept.
  8. 8
    One who speaks; a speaker.
  9. 9
    A particular style or way of writing that expresses a certain tone or feeling.
  10. 10
    A particular way of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, which indicates the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.
  11. 11
    In harmony, an independent vocal or instrumental part in a piece of composition.
  12. 12
    A flag associated with a user on a channel, determining whether they can send messages to the channel.

Etymology

From Middle English voice, voys, vois, borrowed from Anglo-Norman voiz, voys, voice, Old French vois, voiz (Modern French voix), from Latin vōcem, accusative form of vōx (“voice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs, root noun from *wekʷ- (“to utter, speak”). Cognate with Sanskrit वाच् (vāc), Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps), Persian آواز (âvâz). Displaced native Middle English steven (“voice”) (from Old English stefn (see steven)), Old English hlēoþor, Old English woþ, and Old English reord. Compare advocate, advowson, avouch, convoke, vocal, vouch, vowel. Doublet of vox.

This word in other languages

voz(Español)voix(Français)Stimme(Deutsch)voz(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ovice,vioce,vocie,voicce,voiec,vvoice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of voice - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ovice2vioce2vocie2voicce1voiec2vvoice1
Edit distance from "voice"

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 "voice"?
"voice" is spelled V-O-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /vɔɪs/.
What does "voice" mean?
As a noun, "voice" means: Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character.
What words are commonly confused with "voice"?
"voice" is commonly confused with "vote", "void", "VoIP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "voice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "voice" is /vɔɪs/. 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 "voice"?
From Middle English voice, voys, vois, borrowed from Anglo-Norman voiz, voys, voice, Old French vois, voiz (Modern French voix), from Latin vōcem, accusative form of vōx (“voice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs, root noun from *wekʷ- (“to utter,... 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.

Using “voice”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is V-O-I-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /vɔɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “vote” - see the side-by-side comparison. voice vs vote
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list