à vue d’œil

\a vy dœj\

/\a vy dœj\/ adv

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

The verdict

“à vue d’œil” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Rapidement, à un rythme qu'on peut constater visuellement, sans mesure ni instrument.

Key facts for à vue d’œil
PropertyValue
Headwordà vue d’œil
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a vy dœj\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “à vue d’œil” sits in French frequency

à vue d’œil falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

à vue d’œil is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a vy dœj\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Rapidement, à un rythme qu'on peut constater visuellement, sans mesure ni instrument.".

à vue d’œil doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is à vue d’œil, spelled À- -V-U-E- -D-’-Œ-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rapidement, à un rythme qu'on peut constater visuellement, sans mesure ni instrument.

This word in other languages

zusehends(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "à vue d’œil"?
"à vue d’œil" is spelled À- -V-U-E- -D-’-Œ-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is \a vy dœj\.
What does "à vue d’œil" mean?
As an adverb, "à vue d’œil" means: Rapidement, à un rythme qu'on peut constater visuellement, sans mesure ni instrument.
How do you pronounce "à vue d’œil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à vue d’œil" is \a vy dœj\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à vue d’œil" come from?
"à vue d’œil" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “à vue d’œil”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is À- -V-U-E- -D-’-Œ-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a vy dœj\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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