zest

\zɛst\

/\zɛst\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“zest” is uncommon French (frequency #93,407 among 39,292 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,407
frequency rank, French
39,292
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Définition manquante ou à compléter. (Ajouter) Nom utilisé dans les locutions familières être entre le zist et le zest et être entre le zut et le zest.

Key facts for zest
PropertyValue
Headwordzest
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\zɛst\
Letters4
Frequency rank#93,407
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “zest” 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). zest 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

zest is uncommon French at frequency #93,407 among 39,292 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \zɛst\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Définition manquante ou à compléter. (Ajouter) Nom utilisé dans les locutions familières être entre le zist et le zest et être entre le zut et le zest.".

No misspelling variants are generated for zest in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is zest, spelled Z-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Définition manquante ou à compléter. (Ajouter) Nom utilisé dans les locutions familières être entre le zist et le zest et être entre le zut et le zest.

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 "zest"?
"zest" is spelled Z-E-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is \zɛst\.
What does "zest" mean?
As a noun, "zest" means: Définition manquante ou à compléter. (Ajouter) Nom utilisé dans les locutions familières être entre le zist et le zest et être entre le zut et le zest.
How do you pronounce "zest"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zest" is \zɛst\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "zest" come from?
"zest" 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.

Using “zest”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is Z-E-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \zɛst\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this 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