sandpaper
/ˈsændˌpeɪpɚ/noun, verb
sandpaper is spelled S-A-N-D-P-A-P-E-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sandpaper means “Strong paper coated with (traditionally) sand or (today) manufactured aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or other abrasive material, used for smoothing…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sandpaper is sandpapers.
How many letters and syllables are in sandpaper?
| Letters | 9: S-A-N-D-P-A-P-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sandpaper?
Sandpaper appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sandpaper?
- US /ˈsændˌpeɪpɚ/
Sandpaper has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sandpaper.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sandpaper
- sandpapers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sandpapering participle, present
- sandpapered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sandpaper mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Strong paper coated with (traditionally) sand or (today) manufactured aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or other abrasive material, used for smoothing and polishing.
Near-synonym: emery paper
- 2
A sheet of such paper.
I need a scraper and a sandpaper over here.
verb
- 1
To polish or grind (a surface) with or as if with sandpaper.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sandpaper in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | papier de verre, papier à poncer , poncer |
| German | Schleifpapier, Schmirgelpapier, Sandpapier , abschleifen, abschmirgeln , Schleifpapierbogen |
| Portuguese | lixa , lixar |
| Spanish | lija, papel de lija , lijar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sandpaper come from?
From sand + paper.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).