sabotage

/ˈsæ.bəˌtɑːʒ/

//ˈsæ.bəˌtɑːʒ// noun

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

"sabotage" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sabotage” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,674. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,674
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A deliberate action aimed at weakening someone (or something, a nation, etc) or preventing them from being successful, through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sabotage · sabotage · English

sabotage · rank #12,674 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,674
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Rudy

Nearest frequency peer: Rudy (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sabotage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sabotage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sabotage
PropertyValue
Headwordsabotage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæ.bəˌtɑːʒ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#12,674
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sabotage”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sabotagelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Rudy” (#12,673), “sarcasm” (#12,676), “ridden” (#12,671). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sabotage” is #12,674. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around sabotage (IPA /ˈsæ.bəˌtɑːʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,674 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A deliberate action aimed at weakening someone (or something, a nation, etc) or preventing them from being successful, through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for sabotage, with forms such as "asbotage", "sabbotage", and "saboatge". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French sabotage. The correct English form is sabotage, spelled S-A-B-O-T-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A deliberate action aimed at weakening someone (or something, a nation, etc) or preventing them from being successful, through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French sabotage.

This word in other languages

sabotaje(Español)sabotage(Français)Sabotage(Deutsch)sabotagem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asbotage
  • sabbotage
  • saboatge
  • sabotaeg
  • sabotagge
  • sabotgae
  • sabottage
  • sabtoage
  • saobtage
  • sbaotage
  • ssabotage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sabotage - 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.

asbotage2sabbotage1saboatge2sabotaeg2sabotagge1sabotgae2sabottage1sabtoage2
Edit distance from "sabotage"

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 "sabotage"?
"sabotage" is spelled S-A-B-O-T-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæ.bəˌtɑːʒ/.
What does "sabotage" mean?
As a noun, "sabotage" means: A deliberate action aimed at weakening someone (or something, a nation, etc) or preventing them from being successful, through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction.
What are common misspellings of "sabotage"?
Common misspellings include "asbotage", "sabbotage", "saboatge", "sabotaeg", "sabotagge". The correct spelling is "sabotage".
How do you pronounce "sabotage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sabotage" is /ˈsæ.bəˌtɑːʒ/. 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 "sabotage"?
Unadapted borrowing from French sabotage. 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 "sabotage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Savannah#12,677shutdown#12,683policing#12,658Syracuse#12,692

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

sarcasm11 variantsrenting11 variantsshaving11 variantspavilion11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list