œuf

/\œf\/ noun

Letters

3 characters

Frequency Rank

#7,512

in French word usage

Misspellings

0

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

œuf is aFrenchnoun. It means: Structure reproductrice produite par les animaux ovipares (oiseaux, reptiles, amphibiens, insectes, etc.) ou par d’autres animaux, formée dans les ovaires ou les oviductes, et comprenant un zygote ... Pronounced \œf\. It ranks #7,512 in French word frequency. Often confused with un and up.

Key facts for œuf
PropertyValue
Headwordœuf
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\œf\
Letters3
Frequency rank#7,512
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of œuf in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for œuf is 3 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \œf\. Corpus data places it at rank #7,512 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for œuf in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "un", "up", "UK", 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 spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is œuf, spelled Œ-U-F, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Structure reproductrice produite par les animaux ovipares (oiseaux, reptiles, amphibiens, insectes, etc.) ou par d’autres animaux, formée dans les ovaires ou les oviductes, et comprenant un zygote ou un embryon en développement entouré de réserves nutritives (vitellus) et d’enveloppes protectrices. Elle permet le développement de l’embryon à l’extérieur du corps de la mère ou dans l’environnement.
  2. 2
    Cet ovule utilisé comme aliment ou comme composant culinaire.
  3. 3
    Zygote (aussi appelé cellule-œuf).
  4. 4
    Vésicules, petits sacs membraneux ou concrétions globuleuses au sein du corps humain.
  5. 5
    Germe ; principe ; commencement.
  6. 6
    Objet en forme d’œuf dont on se sert pour repriser plus commodément les bas. Œuf à repriser
  7. 7
    Objet en forme d’œuf à usage purement décoratif.
  8. 8
    Télécabine, généralement de forme ovoïde.
  9. 9
    Position de ski permettant d’accroître la vitesse du skieur.
  10. 10
    Personne trans n’ayant pas conscience de sa transidentité.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Frequency rank: #7,512 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "œuf"?
"œuf" is spelled Œ-U-F. The IPA pronunciation is \œf\.
What does "œuf" mean?
As a noun, "œuf" means: Structure reproductrice produite par les animaux ovipares (oiseaux, reptiles, amphibiens, insectes, etc.) ou par d’autres animaux, formée dans les ovaires ou les oviductes, et comprenant un zygote ...
What words are commonly confused with "œuf"?
"œuf" is commonly confused with "un", "up", "UK". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "œuf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "œuf" is \œf\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "œuf" come from?
"œuf" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter Œ in our French index:

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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.