urbex

\yʁ.bɛks\

/\yʁ.bɛks\/ noun

The verdict

“urbex” is uncommon French (frequency #87,229 among 44,794 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,229
frequency rank, French
44,794
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Exploration de lieux interdits ou difficiles d’accès.

Corpus desk

Index FR-urbex · urbex · French

urbex · rank #87,229 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #87,229
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 44,794
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ugine

Nearest frequency peer: Ugine (-2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “urbex”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “urbex” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for urbex
PropertyValue
Headwordurbex
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\yʁ.bɛks\
Letters5
Frequency rank#87,229
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “urbex” 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). urbex lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

urbex is uncommon French at frequency #87,229 among 44,794 “U” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \yʁ.bɛks\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Exploration de lieux interdits ou difficiles d’accès.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for urbex, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

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 urbex, spelled U-R-B-E-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exploration de lieux interdits ou difficiles d’accès.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Contraction de l’anglais urban exploration, l’urbex consiste à photographier l’intérieur des sites abandonnés – friches industrielles, chantiers de démolition –, avec une prédilection pour les imposants vestiges d’usines.
  2. Pratiquer l’urbex, c’est partir à la rencontre de lieux "abandonnés", c’est-à-dire d’espaces plus ou moins dégradés qui n’ont plus d’usage officiel.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "urbex"?
"urbex" is spelled U-R-B-E-X. The IPA pronunciation is \yʁ.bɛks\.
What does "urbex" mean?
As a noun, "urbex" means: Exploration de lieux interdits ou difficiles d’accès.
How do you pronounce "urbex"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "urbex" is \yʁ.bɛks\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "urbex" come from?
"urbex" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

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