hamstring
/ˈhæmstɹɪŋ/
"hamstring" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hamstring” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,559. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #23,559
- frequency rank, English
- 23,837
- “H” headwords
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hamstring |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhæmstɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #23,559 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hamstring” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 15 spelling variants around hamstring (IPA /ˈhæmstɹɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,559 among 23,837 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for hamstring, with forms such as "ahmstring", "hammstring", and "hamsrting". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "hammering", "hampering", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From ham (“region back of the knee joint”) + string. The correct English form is hamstring, spelled H-A-M-S-T-R-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.
- 2The biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus muscles.
Etymology
From ham (“region back of the knee joint”) + string.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ahmstring
- hammstring
- hamsrting
- hamsstring
- hamstirng
- hamstrign
- hamstringg
- hamstrinng
- hamstrnig
- hamstrring
- hamsttring
- hamtsring
- hasmtring
- hhamstring
- hmastring
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hamstring - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "hamstring"?
What does "hamstring" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “hamstring”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-A-M-S-T-R-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhæmstɹɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “hammering” - see the side-by-side comparison. hamstring vs hammering
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.