volley

/ˈvɒli/

//ˈvɒli// noun

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

"volley" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“volley” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,409. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,409
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles or bullets; the projectiles so fired.

Corpus desk

Index EN-volley · volley · English

volley · rank #21,409 · 7 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,409
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH voicing

Nearest frequency peer: voicing (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “volley”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “volley” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

volley vs vole
67% similar
volley vs ville
67% similar
volley vs Valle
50% similar

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

Key facts for volley
PropertyValue
Headwordvolley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvɒli/
Letters6
Frequency rank#21,409
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “volley”

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).volleylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “voicing” (#21,408), “vigil” (#21,407), “waive” (#21,411). Among 969 “V” headwords, “volley” is #21,409. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around volley (IPA /ˈvɒli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,409 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for volley, with forms such as "ovlley", "vloley", and "volely". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "vole", "ville", "Valle", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French volée (“flight”), from Vulgar Latin volta, from Late Latin volatus. The correct English form is volley, spelled V-O-L-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles or bullets; the projectiles so fired.
  2. 2
    A burst or emission of many things at once.
  3. 3
    The flight of a ball just before it bounces.
  4. 4
    A shot in which the ball is played before it hits the ground.
  5. 5
    A sending of the ball full to the top of the wicket.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Fiery darts in flaming volies flew.
  2. Each volley tells that thousands cease to breathe.

Etymology

From Middle French volée (“flight”), from Vulgar Latin volta, from Late Latin volatus.

This word in other languages

salva(Español)volée(Français)Salve(Deutsch)salva(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ovlley
  • vloley
  • volely
  • voley
  • volleyy
  • vollye
  • vvolley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ovlley2vloley2volely2voley1volleyy1vollye2vvolley1
Edit distance from "volley"

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 "volley"?
"volley" is spelled V-O-L-L-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɒli/.
What does "volley" mean?
As a noun, "volley" means: The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles or bullets; the projectiles so fired.
What words are commonly confused with "volley"?
"volley" is commonly confused with "vole", "ville", "Valle". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "volley"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "volley" is /ˈvɒli/. 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 "volley"?
From Middle French volée (“flight”), from Vulgar Latin volta, from Late Latin volatus. 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 "volley", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Viagra#21,406Wallis#21,412warmly#21,413upkeep#21,403

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

vigil7 variantsSoros7 variantsbudge7 variantsclout7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list