fosse

\fos\

/\fos\/ noun

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

The verdict

“fosse” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #7,964 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#7,964
frequency rank, French
5
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cavité dans le sol, le plus souvent artificielle.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

fosse vs fous
60% similar
fosse vs fuse
60% similar
fosse vs foule
60% similar

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

Key facts for fosse
PropertyValue
Headwordfosse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fos\
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,964
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fosse” sits in French 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). fosse 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 French entry for fosse is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \fos\. Corpus data places it at rank #7,964 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for fosse, with forms such as "ffosse", "fose", and "foses". 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, "fous", "fuse", "foule", 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 any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is fosse, spelled F-O-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cavité dans le sol, le plus souvent artificielle.
  2. 2
    Creux fait à même la terre par la nature ou par la main de l’homme.
  3. 3
    Dépression de forme allongée, de profondeur et de dimensions importantes, avec des flancs à inclination variable, se trouvant généralement dans les océans.
  4. 4
    Trou creusé à plomb pour prendre les loups.
  5. 5
    Trou creusé en terre et dans lequel on met les morts.
  6. 6
    Partie d'une scène, invisible aux spectateurs, dans laquelle se place l’orchestre des musiciens.
  7. 7
    Cavité creusée pour l'extraction de minerai.
  8. 8
    Trou que les jardiniers font dans le sol pour leurs cultures.
  9. 9
    Trou que les jardiniers font dans le sol pour leurs cultures.
  10. 10
    Trou que les jardiniers font dans le sol pour leurs cultures.
  11. 11
    Cavité plus ou moins grande, dont l’ouverture est plus large que le fond.
  12. 12
    Ouverture par laquelle certains cétacés aspirent l’air puis le rejettent.
  13. 13
    Cavité maçonnée qu'utilisaient divers corps de métiers.
  14. 14
    Cavité maçonnée qu'utilisaient divers corps de métiers.
  15. 15
    Cavité maçonnée qu'utilisaient divers corps de métiers.
  16. 16
    Cavité maçonnée qu'utilisaient divers corps de métiers.
  17. 17
    Cavité maçonnée qu'utilisaient divers corps de métiers.
  18. 18
    Cavité maçonnée qu'utilisaient divers corps de métiers.

Synonyms

boyaudouvedépressionéventfosséfouillegouffreminerenfoncementtranchéetrou

This word in other languages

pit(English)fosa(Español)Graben(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffosse,fose,foses,fsose,ofsse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fosse - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffosse1fose1foses2fsose2ofsse2
Edit distance from "fosse"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fosse"?
"fosse" is spelled F-O-S-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fos\.
What does "fosse" mean?
As a noun, "fosse" means: Cavité dans le sol, le plus souvent artificielle.
What words are commonly confused with "fosse"?
"fosse" is commonly confused with "fous", "fuse", "foule". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fosse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fosse" is \fos\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fosse" come from?
"fosse" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “fosse”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is F-O-S-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \fos\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fous” - see the side-by-side comparison. fosse vs fous
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list