grèbe

\ɡʁɛb\

/\ɡʁɛb\/ noun

The verdict

“grèbe” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Oiseau aquatique dont le plumage est d’un blanc argenté.

Corpus desk

Index FR-grebe · grèbe · French

grèbe · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for grèbe
PropertyValue
Headwordgrèbe
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɡʁɛb\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « grèbe » en français

grèben'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

grèbe is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɡʁɛb\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Oiseau aquatique dont le plumage est d’un blanc argenté.".

No misspelling variants are generated for grèbe in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is grèbe, spelled G-R-È-B-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Oiseau aquatique dont le plumage est d’un blanc argenté.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how grèbe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Harry Dickson ne l'avait vue que de profil, mais à présent qu'il la voyait devant lui, dans son manteau de petit-gris, sous sa fine toque de grèbe, il dut s'avouer qu'elle était bien ravissante, la savante Miss Maud Brenner.
  2. Ses fins cheveux étaient invisibles sous une toque de grèbe.

Synonyms

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "grèbe"?
"grèbe" is spelled G-R-È-B-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡʁɛb\.
What does "grèbe" mean?
As a noun, "grèbe" means: Oiseau aquatique dont le plumage est d’un blanc argenté.
How do you pronounce "grèbe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grèbe" is \ɡʁɛb\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "grèbe" come from?
"grèbe" 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list