scamp
/ˈskæmp/
"scamp" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scamp” is an uncommon English word, ranked #65,483 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #65,483
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scamp |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈskæmp/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #65,483 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scamp” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scamp is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskæmp/. Corpus data places it at rank #65,483 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for scamp, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”), from Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampāre. Compare escape. The correct English form is scamp, spelled S-C-A-M-P.
Definition
- 1A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well.
- 2A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.
Etymology
From Middle Dutch schampen (“slip away”), from Old French escamper (“to run away, to make one's escape”), from Vulgar Latin *excampāre. Compare escape.
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); 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
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Using “scamp”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-A-M-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskæmp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.