scab

/skæb/

//skæb// noun

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

"scab" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scab” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,672. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,672
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An incrustation over a sore, wound, vesicle, or pustule, formed during healing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scab · scab · English

scab · rank #37,672 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,672
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schenectady

Nearest frequency peer: Schenectady (+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 “scab”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “scab” 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).

scab vs sea
50% similar
scab vs sub
50% similar
scab vs spa
50% similar

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

Key facts for scab
PropertyValue
Headwordscab
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skæb/
Letters4
Frequency rank#37,672
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “scab”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).scablands 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 “Schenectady” (#37,673), “sarin” (#37,669), “scoot” (#37,675). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scab” is #37,672. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around scab (IPA /skæb/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,672 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for scab, with forms such as "csab", "sacb", and "scabb". 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, "sea", "sub", "spa", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scabb, scabbe (also as shabbe, schabbe > English shab), from Old English sċeabb and Old Norse skabb, both from Proto-Germanic *skabbaz (“scab, scabies”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, carve, shape”). Doublet of shab. … The correct English form is scab, spelled S-C-A-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    An incrustation over a sore, wound, vesicle, or pustule, formed during healing.
  2. 2
    The scabies.
  3. 3
    The mange, especially when it appears on sheep.
  4. 4
    Any of several different diseases of potatoes producing pits and other damage on their surface, caused by streptomyces bacteria (but formerly believed to be caused by a fungus).
  5. 5
    Common scab, a relatively harmless variety of scab (potato disease) caused by Streptomyces scabies.
  6. 6
    Any one of various more or less destructive fungal diseases that attack cultivated plants, forming dark-colored crustlike spots.
  7. 7
    A slight irregular protuberance which defaces the surface of a casting, caused by the breaking away of a part of the mold.
  8. 8
    A mean, dirty, paltry fellow.
  9. 9
    A worker who acts against trade union policies; any picket crosser (strikebreaker), and especially one with devotion to union busting.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Scab was the terror of the sheep farmer, and the peril of his calling.
  2. I would make thee the / loathsomest scab in Greece.

Etymology

From Middle English scabb, scabbe (also as shabbe, schabbe > English shab), from Old English sċeabb and Old Norse skabb, both from Proto-Germanic *skabbaz (“scab, scabies”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, carve, shape”). Doublet of shab. Cognate with German Schabe (“scabies”), Danish skab (“scab, scabies”), Swedish skabb (“scab, scabies”), Latin scabies (“scab, itch, mange”). Related also to Old English scafan (“to scrape, shave”), Latin scabere (“to scratch”), English shabby.

This word in other languages

costra(Español)croûte(Français)Schorf(Deutsch)crosta(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • csab
  • sacb
  • scabb
  • scba
  • sccab
  • sscab

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

csab2sacb2scabb1scba2sccab1sscab1
Edit distance from "scab"

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 "scab"?
"scab" is spelled S-C-A-B. The IPA pronunciation is /skæb/.
What does "scab" mean?
As a noun, "scab" means: An incrustation over a sore, wound, vesicle, or pustule, formed during healing.
What words are commonly confused with "scab"?
"scab" is commonly confused with "sea", "sub", "spa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "scab"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scab" is /skæb/. 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 "scab"?
From Middle English scabb, scabbe (also as shabbe, schabbe > English shab), from Old English sċeabb and Old Norse skabb, both from Proto-Germanic *skabbaz (“scab, scabies”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, carve, shape”). Doublet... 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 "scab", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

seep#37,680phat#37,626Sulu#37,718pare#37,620

Similar misspelling depth

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

scoot6 variantsSaito6 variantsspate6 variantsStasi6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list