forceps

/\fɔʁ.sɛps\/ noun

Letters

7 characters

Frequency Rank

#44,463

in French word usage

Misspellings

11

tracked variants

Confusables

18

similar word pairs

forceps is aFrenchnoun. It means: Instrument en forme de grandes et larges pinces, dont on se sert dans les accouchements laborieux pour l’extraction de l’enfant. Pronounced \fɔʁ.sɛps\. Often confused with forces and formes.

Key facts for forceps
PropertyValue
Headwordforceps
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fɔʁ.sɛps\
Letters7
Frequency rank#44,463
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of forceps in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for forceps is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \fɔʁ.sɛps\. Corpus data places it at rank #44,463 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 11 documented wrong-spelling variants for forceps, with forms such as "fforceps", "focreps", and "forcceps". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "forces", "formes", "fortes", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is forceps, spelled F-O-R-C-E-P-S, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Instrument en forme de grandes et larges pinces, dont on se sert dans les accouchements laborieux pour l’extraction de l’enfant.
  2. 2
    Appendices en forme de pinces situés à l'apex de l'abdomen chez les forficules.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: fforceps,focreps,forcceps,forcepps,forcepss,forcesp,forcpes,forecps,forrceps,froceps,ofrceps

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for forceps

Misspelling Variants of "forceps"

fforceps8focreps7forcceps8forcepps8forcepss8forcesp7forcpes7forecps7
Misspelling Variants of "forceps"

Frequency rank: #44,463 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "forceps"?
"forceps" is spelled F-O-R-C-E-P-S. The IPA pronunciation is \fɔʁ.sɛps\.
What does "forceps" mean?
As a noun, "forceps" means: Instrument en forme de grandes et larges pinces, dont on se sert dans les accouchements laborieux pour l’extraction de l’enfant.
What words are commonly confused with "forceps"?
"forceps" is commonly confused with "forces", "formes", "fortes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "forceps"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "forceps" is \fɔʁ.sɛps\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "forceps" come from?
"forceps" 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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter F in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.