tir

\tiʁ\

/\tiʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“tir” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,969 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,969
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action, art de tirer, de faire partir une arme de jet ou une arme à feu dans une direction déterminée.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

tir vs tu
33% similar
tir vs TV
0% similar
tir vs Tl
0% similar

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

Key facts for tir
PropertyValue
Headwordtir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tiʁ\
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,969
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tir” 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). tir 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 tir is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \tiʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,969 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.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for tir, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tu", "TV", "Tl", 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 tir, spelled T-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action, art de tirer, de faire partir une arme de jet ou une arme à feu dans une direction déterminée.
  2. 2
    Mise à feu d’une ou plusieurs charges d’explosif, soit pour abattre la roche, soit pour provoquer, dans le sous-sol, la propagation d’un train d’ondes élastiques.
  3. 3
    Manière dont on tire, en parlant des armes à feu.
  4. 4
    Lieu où l’on s’exerce à tirer.
  5. 5
    Sorte d’attraction foraine où l’on tire à l’arme à feu sur des cibles.
  6. 6
    Coup consistant à lancer violemment sa boule contre une boule adverse afin de l’écarter du but.
  7. 7
    Action de frapper le ballon ou la balle pour l’expédier en direction du but adverse.

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); 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 "tir"?
"tir" is spelled T-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \tiʁ\.
What does "tir" mean?
As a noun, "tir" means: Action, art de tirer, de faire partir une arme de jet ou une arme à feu dans une direction déterminée.
What words are commonly confused with "tir"?
"tir" is commonly confused with "tu", "TV", "Tl". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tir" is \tiʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tir" come from?
"tir" 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 “tir”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-I-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tiʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “tu” - see the side-by-side comparison. tir vs tu
  • 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