pair of scissors
"pair-of-scissors" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pair of scissors” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A tool used for cutting thin material, consisting of two crossing blades attached at a pivot point in such a way that the blades slide across each other when the handles are closed
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pair of scissors |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pair of scissors” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pair of scissors is 16 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A tool used for cutting thin material, consisting of two crossing blades attached at a pivot point in such a way that the blades slide across each other when the handles are closed".
pair of scissors has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English paire of Sesurys, pare of cisurs, payr of sesurs, payr of sisurs, peir sisours, peyre cysours, peyre of sysers. The correct English form is pair of scissors, spelled P-A-I-R- -O-F- -S-C-I-S-S-O-R-S.
Definition
- 1A tool used for cutting thin material, consisting of two crossing blades attached at a pivot point in such a way that the blades slide across each other when the handles are closed
Etymology
From Middle English paire of Sesurys, pare of cisurs, payr of sesurs, payr of sisurs, peir sisours, peyre cysours, peyre of sysers.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “pair of scissors”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-I-R- -O-F- -S-C-I-S-S-O-R-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.