Sambo

/ˈsæmboʊ/

//ˈsæmboʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“Sambo” is uncommon English (frequency #52,612 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,612
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A black person, especially one who is accommodating or servile towards whites; an Uncle Tom.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sambo · Sambo · English

Sambo · rank #52,612 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,612
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sangria

Nearest frequency peer: sangria (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “Sambo”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Sambo” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Sambo
PropertyValue
HeadwordSambo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæmboʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#52,612
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Sambo” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Sambofalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “sangria” (#52,613), “Sabra” (#52,610), “Sano” (#52,614). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “Sambo” is #52,612. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Sambo is uncommon English at frequency #52,612 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsæmboʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Sambo, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish zambo. The correct English form is Sambo, spelled S-A-M-B-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A black person, especially one who is accommodating or servile towards whites; an Uncle Tom.
  2. 2
    A person of three quarters African descent and one quarter Caucasian descent.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish zambo.

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 "Sambo"?
"Sambo" is spelled S-A-M-B-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæmboʊ/.
What does "Sambo" mean?
As a noun, "Sambo" means: A black person, especially one who is accommodating or servile towards whites; an Uncle Tom.
How do you pronounce "Sambo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Sambo" is /ˈsæmboʊ/. 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 "Sambo"?
Borrowed from Spanish zambo. 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 "Sambo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Sabra#52,610scowl#52,618Seema#52,620shied#52,626

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list