foule

\ful\

/\ful\/ noun

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

The verdict

“foule” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,616 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,616
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action de fouler les draps. On dit plutôt foulage de nos jours.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

foule vs fous
60% similar
foule vs fout
60% similar
foule vs four
60% similar

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

Key facts for foule
PropertyValue
Headwordfoule
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ful\
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,616
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “foule” 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). foule 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 foule is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ful\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,616 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for foule, with forms such as "ffoule", "folue", and "fouel". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fous", "fout", "four", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is foule, spelled F-O-U-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action de fouler les draps. On dit plutôt foulage de nos jours.
  2. 2
    Action de fouler les draps. On dit plutôt foulage de nos jours.
  3. 3
    Atelier de foulage.
  4. 4
    Dans un métier à tisser, espace entre les deux nappes de la chaîne, où l’on fait passer le fil de trame. On dit aussi marchure.
  5. 5
    Longue perche pour pousser la ralingue du vent afin d’ouvrir les voiles le plus possible.
  6. 6
    Sorte de pêche dans laquelle, foulant du pied le fond des rivières, ou de la mer, quand la marée est basse, on pique avec une sorte de fourche le poisson que l’on rencontre enfoui dans le sable ou la vase.
  7. 7
    Ce qui foule les hommes : oppression, vexation.

Synonyms

pas

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffoule,folue,fouel,foulle,fuole,ofule

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of foule - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ffoule1folue2fouel2foulle1fuole2ofule2
Edit distance from "foule"

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 "foule"?
"foule" is spelled F-O-U-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ful\.
What does "foule" mean?
As a noun, "foule" means: Action de fouler les draps. On dit plutôt foulage de nos jours.
What words are commonly confused with "foule"?
"foule" is commonly confused with "fous", "fout", "four". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foule"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foule" is \ful\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "foule" come from?
"foule" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “foule”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is F-O-U-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ful\ (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. foule 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