asp

/æsp/

//æsp// noun

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

"asp" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“asp” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #27,056) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#27,056
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A water snake.

Corpus desk

Index EN-asp · asp · English

asp · rank #27,056 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,056
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ASD

Nearest frequency peer: ASD (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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 “asp”

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

asp vs at
33% similar
asp vs aw
33% similar
asp vs AU
0% similar

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

Key facts for asp
PropertyValue
Headwordasp
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/æsp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#27,056
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “asp” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).asplands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ASD” (#27,055), “assimilate” (#27,057), “Artemis” (#27,054). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for asp is neighbouring look-alikes ("at", "aw", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /æsp/. Frequency #27,056 among 3,931 “A” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

asp has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "at", "aw", "AU", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English aspe, from Old French aspe, from Latin aspis, aspidis (“asp, viper”), from Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”); compare Middle English aspide. The correct English form is asp, spelled A-S-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A water snake.
  2. 2
    A venomous viper native to southwestern Europe (Vipera aspis).
  3. 3
    The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje).
  4. 4
    An evil person; a snake.
  5. 5
    A type of European fish (Aspius aspius).
  6. 6
    The caterpillar of various types of flannel moths which induce an intense pain when their hair is touched.
  7. 7
    The caterpillar of various types of flannel moths which induce an intense pain when their hair is touched.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. 'Two thousand years ago did thou and I and that Egyptian asp rest therein, but since then have I not set foot here, nor any man, and perchance it has fallen,' and, followed by the rest of us, she passed up a vast flight of broken and ruined steps into the outer court, and looked round into the gloom.

Etymology

From Middle English aspe, from Old French aspe, from Latin aspis, aspidis (“asp, viper”), from Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”); compare Middle English aspide.

Synonyms

asp viperEuropean aspaspis viper

This word in other languages

áspid(Español)aspic(Français)Aspisviper(Deutsch)

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "asp"?
"asp" is spelled A-S-P. The IPA pronunciation is /æsp/.
What does "asp" mean?
As a noun, "asp" means: A water snake.
What words are commonly confused with "asp"?
"asp" is commonly confused with "at", "aw", "AU". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "asp"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "asp" is /æsp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "asp"?
From Middle English aspe, from Old French aspe, from Latin aspis, aspidis (“asp, viper”), from Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”); compare Middle English aspide. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ASD#27,055ATF#27,060bbl#27,067bod#27,073

What to do next

You've looked up "asp". Here's where to go from here.

  • "asp" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "at". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #27,056 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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