safe and sound
"safe-and-sound" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“safe and sound” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having come to no harm, especially after being exposed to danger.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | safe and sound |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “safe and sound” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for safe and sound is 14 letters long, classified as an adjective. 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: "Having come to no harm, especially after being exposed to danger.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for safe and sound, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Conjunction of safe (“not in danger”) and sound (“intact, healthy”). Compare with Old French sauf et sain. The correct English form is safe and sound, spelled S-A-F-E- -A-N-D- -S-O-U-N-D.
Definition
- 1Having come to no harm, especially after being exposed to danger.
Etymology
Conjunction of safe (“not in danger”) and sound (“intact, healthy”). Compare with Old French sauf et sain.
This word in other languages
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 “safe and sound”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-A-F-E- -A-N-D- -S-O-U-N-D - 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.