plaster
/ˈplɑː.stə/
"plaster" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“plaster” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,384 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,384
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A paste applied to the skin for healing or cosmetic purposes.
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 | plaster |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈplɑː.stə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #14,384 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “plaster” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for plaster is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈplɑː.stə/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,384 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for plaster, with forms such as "lpaster", "palster", and "plasetr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "plate", "player", "plates", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English plaster, plastre, from Old English plaster, from late Latin plastrum, shortened from Classical Latin emplastrum (“a plaster, bandage”); later reinforced by Anglo-Norman plastre. The verb is from Middle English plastren, from the noun. The correct English form is plaster, spelled P-L-A-S-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A paste applied to the skin for healing or cosmetic purposes.
- 2A small adhesive bandage to cover a minor wound; a sticking plaster.
- 3A mixture of lime or gypsum, sand, and water, sometimes with the addition of fibres, that hardens to a smooth solid and is used for coating walls and ceilings.
- 4A similar material used for exterior walls.
- 5A cast made of plaster of Paris and gauze; a plaster cast.
- 6Plaster of Paris.
Etymology
From Middle English plaster, plastre, from Old English plaster, from late Latin plastrum, shortened from Classical Latin emplastrum (“a plaster, bandage”); later reinforced by Anglo-Norman plastre. The verb is from Middle English plastren, from the noun.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: lpaster,palster,plasetr,plasster,plasterr,plastre,plastter,platser,pllaster,plsater,pplaster
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plaster - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “plaster”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-L-A-S-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈplɑː.stə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “plate” - see the side-by-side comparison. plaster vs plate
- 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.