sabre

/ˈseɪ.bə/

//ˈseɪ.bə// noun

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

"sabre" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sabre” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,350. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,350
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A light sword with a curved blade, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sabre · sabre · English

sabre · rank #28,350 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,350
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH RSVP

Nearest frequency peer: RSVP (-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 “sabre”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sabre” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

sabre vs Sar
40% similar
sabre vs same
60% similar
sabre vs sure
60% similar

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

Key facts for sabre
PropertyValue
Headwordsabre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈseɪ.bə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#28,350
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sabre”

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).sabrelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “RSVP” (#28,349), “Saleh” (#28,351), “roadshow” (#28,347). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sabre” is #28,350. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around sabre (IPA /ˈseɪ.bə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,350 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for sabre, with forms such as "asbre", "sabbre", and "sabrre". 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, "Sar", "same", "sure", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Polish szabla, from Hungarian szablya. Cognate with Danish sabel, Russian са́бля (sáblja), Serbo-Croatian сабља, Sicilian sciàbbula. The correct English form is sabre, spelled S-A-B-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A light sword with a curved blade, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point.
  2. 2
    A modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Jewan Sadit, who ſtood before the prince, obſerving his youthful temerity, threw himſelf between him and danger, and with a nervous arm, wielding a ſharp ſabre, of the hard tempered ſteel of Damiſk, ruſhing upon the tyger, he ſtruck him acroſs the forehead.

Etymology

Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Polish szabla, from Hungarian szablya. Cognate with Danish sabel, Russian са́бля (sáblja), Serbo-Croatian сабља, Sicilian sciàbbula.

This word in other languages

sable(Español)sabre(Français)Säbel(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asbre
  • sabbre
  • sabrre
  • sarbe
  • sbare
  • ssabre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

asbre2sabbre1sabrre1sarbe2sbare2ssabre1
Edit distance from "sabre"

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 "sabre"?
"sabre" is spelled S-A-B-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈseɪ.bə/.
What does "sabre" mean?
As a noun, "sabre" means: A light sword with a curved blade, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point.
What words are commonly confused with "sabre"?
"sabre" is commonly confused with "Sar", "same", "sure". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sabre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sabre" is /ˈseɪ.bə/. 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 "sabre"?
Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Polish szabla, from Hungarian szablya. Cognate with Danish sabel, Russian са́бля (sáblja), Serbo-Croatian сабља, Sicilian sciàbbula. 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 "sabre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Saleh#28,351speck#28,382nacho#28,302moray#28,298

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

shag6 variantssift6 variantsSion6 variantsO'Neil6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list