wrasse

/ɹæs/

//ɹæs// noun

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

The verdict

“wrasse” is uncommon English (frequency #89,030 among 12,113 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,030
frequency rank, English
12,113
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any one of numerous edible, marine, spiny-finned fishes of the family Labridae, of which several species are found in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Many of the species are ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-wrasse · wrasse · English

wrasse · rank #89,030 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,030
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 12,113
  • PHOTO-FINISH wittle

Nearest frequency peer: wittle (-3 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 neighbourhood for “wrasse”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “wrasse” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for wrasse
PropertyValue
Headwordwrasse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹæs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#89,030
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wrasse” 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). wrasse lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

wrasse is uncommon English at frequency #89,030 among 12,113 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɹæs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any one of numerous edible, marine, spiny-finned fishes of the family Labridae, of which several species are found in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Many of the species are ...".

wrasse has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Plural of dialectal (Cornwall) wrah, wraugh, wrath, from Cornish wragh (“old woman, hag; wrasse”), lenited form of gwragh. The correct English form is wrasse, spelled W-R-A-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any one of numerous edible, marine, spiny-finned fishes of the family Labridae, of which several species are found in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Many of the species are brightly colored.

Etymology

Plural of dialectal (Cornwall) wrah, wraugh, wrath, from Cornish wragh (“old woman, hag; wrasse”), lenited form of gwragh.

This word in other languages

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wrasse"?
"wrasse" is spelled W-R-A-S-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹæs/.
What does "wrasse" mean?
As a noun, "wrasse" means: Any one of numerous edible, marine, spiny-finned fishes of the family Labridae, of which several species are found in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Many of the species are ...
How do you pronounce "wrasse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wrasse" is /ɹæs/. 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 "wrasse"?
Plural of dialectal (Cornwall) wrah, wraugh, wrath, from Cornish wragh (“old woman, hag; wrasse”), lenited form of gwragh. 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 "wrasse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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