nitre
\nitʁ\
The verdict
“nitre” 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) - Salpêtre, nitrate de potassium.
Corpus desk
Index FR-nitre · nitre · French
nitre · 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 "N" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nitre |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \nitʁ\ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « nitre » en français
Rare enough to double-check
nitre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \nitʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for nitre, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is nitre, spelled N-I-T-R-E.
Definition
- 1Salpêtre, nitrate de potassium.
- 2Poudre à canon, dans un registre évocateur, à cause du nitre ou salpêtre que cette dernière préparation contient.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how nitre appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[…], on descendit dans des caves, on suivit des souterrains dont les parois, cotonnées par les fleurs du nitre, […], laissaient suinter l’eau qui retombait en gouttes.
Du corps de ce Dragon plein de ſouſſre & de nitre, Dont le triangle affreux, tout hériſſé de crins, Surpaſſait en groſſeur nos plus épais Lutrins.
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.