Griff

\ɡʀɪf\

/\ɡʀɪf\/ noun

The verdict

“Griff” is uncommon French (frequency #74,841 among 2,617 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,841
frequency rank, French
2,617
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Poignée.

Corpus desk

Index FR-griff · Griff · French

Griff · rank #74,841 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,841
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,617
  • PHOTO-FINISH gredin

Nearest frequency peer: gredin (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « Griff »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « Griff » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Griff
PropertyValue
HeadwordGriff
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɡʀɪf\
Letters5
Frequency rank#74,841
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « Griff » en français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.Grifftombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « gredin » (#74,840), « groggy » (#74,842), « grattait » (#74,839). Parmi 2,617 lemmes en « G », « Griff » est au #74,841. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Griff is uncommon French at frequency #74,841 among 2,617 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɡʀɪf\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Griff doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is Griff, spelled G-R-I-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Poignée.
  2. 2
    Coup ou tour de main.
  3. 3
    im Griff haben: dominer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Die Tür hatte keinen Griff.
  2. Unter fremden Sternbildern, vor den steinernen Zeugen der Pyramiden hatte [Napoleon] gefochten, war dann, müd, ein grandios begonnenes Werk zäh zu vollenden, auf winzigem Schiffe durchgeschlüpft zwischen den lauernden Korvetten Nelsons, faßte ein paar Tage nach seiner Ankunft eine Handvoll Getreuer zusammen, fegte den widerstrebenden Konvent rein und riß…

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 "Griff"?
"Griff" is spelled G-R-I-F-F. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡʀɪf\.
What does "Griff" mean?
As a noun, "Griff" means: Poignée.
How do you pronounce "Griff"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Griff" is \ɡʀɪf\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Griff" come from?
"Griff" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Griff", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list