salad

/ˈsæl.əd/

//ˈsæl.əd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“salad” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,624. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,624
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A food made primarily of a mixture of raw or cold ingredients, typically vegetables, usually served with a dressing such as vinegar or mayonnaise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-salad · salad · English

salad · rank #5,624 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,624
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH responsibilit…

Nearest frequency peer: responsibilities (-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 “salad”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “salad” 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).

salad vs SLA
0% similar
salad vs sale
60% similar
salad vs sold
60% similar

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

Key facts for salad
PropertyValue
Headwordsalad
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæl.əd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,624
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “salad”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).saladlands 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 “responsibilities” (#5,623), “scholarship” (#5,625), “screening” (#5,626). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “salad” is #5,624. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around salad (IPA /ˈsæl.əd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,624 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for salad, with forms such as "aslad", "saald", and "saladd". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SLA", "sale", "sold", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salade, from Old French salade, borrowed from Northern Italian salada, salata (compare insalata), from Vulgar Latin *salāta, from *salāre, from Latin saliō, from sal (“salt”). Vegetables were seasoned with brine or salt… The correct English form is salad, spelled S-A-L-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A food made primarily of a mixture of raw or cold ingredients, typically vegetables, usually served with a dressing such as vinegar or mayonnaise.
  2. 2
    A food made primarily of a mixture of raw or cold ingredients, typically vegetables, usually served with a dressing such as vinegar or mayonnaise.
  3. 3
    A raw vegetable of the kind used in salads.
  4. 4
    Any varied blend or mixture.
  5. 5
    Lettuce.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Lafeu. ’Twas a good lady, ’twas a good lady: we may pick a thousand salads ere we light on such another herb. Clown. Indeed, sir, she was the sweet marjoram of the salad, or rather, the herb of grace.
  2. At various times and in different areas salads, compounded of meats, spices, tubers have been treated as of aphrodisiac value.

Etymology

PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salade, from Old French salade, borrowed from Northern Italian salada, salata (compare insalata), from Vulgar Latin *salāta, from *salāre, from Latin saliō, from sal (“salt”). Vegetables were seasoned with brine or salty oil-and-vinegar dressings during Roman times.

This word in other languages

ensalada(Español)salade(Français)Salat(Deutsch)salada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aslad
  • saald
  • saladd
  • salda
  • sallad
  • slaad
  • ssalad

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aslad2saald2saladd1salda2sallad1slaad2ssalad1
Edit distance from "salad"

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 "salad"?
"salad" is spelled S-A-L-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæl.əd/.
What does "salad" mean?
As a noun, "salad" means: A food made primarily of a mixture of raw or cold ingredients, typically vegetables, usually served with a dressing such as vinegar or mayonnaise.
What words are commonly confused with "salad"?
"salad" is commonly confused with "SLA", "sale", "sold". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "salad"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "salad" is /ˈsæl.əd/. 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 "salad"?
PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salade, from Old French salade, borrowed from Northern Italian salada, salata (compare insalata), from Vulgar Latin *salāta, from *salāre, from Latin saliō, from sal (“salt”). Vegetables were seasoned with bri... 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 "salad", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sends#5,627stake#5,631swift#5,635twins#5,643

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

morris7 variantshates7 variantswallet7 variantsaboard7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list